


Backstage Of My Mind

by GiiBii



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Awkward Dates, Bisexual Uzumaki Naruto, Blood, Car sharing, Character Death, Codependency, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Eventually Supportive Sakura, Gay Uchiha Sasuke, Heart-to-Heart, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, M/M, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Nonbinary Orochimaru (Naruto), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Past Character Death, Past Lives, Romance, Shakespeare Quotations, Somewhat Unhealthy Relationship, Soulmates, Therapist Yamato, Therapy, but also a healthy one, its complicated lol, mention of murder, one-sided naruhina, one-sided sasusaku, spiritual therapist orochimaru, spiritual therapy, twin flames
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:02:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 57,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiiBii/pseuds/GiiBii
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki loves the Theatre. Specifically, Konoha Theatre. It's a place where he'd eventually, finally, been welcomed with open arms and accepted - in a city where he grew up parentless and alone, victim to his parent's rumored reputation, and where everyone treated him like an outcast. With the big question mark still above his head surrounding his parent's death and their lives prior, he makes it his life's work to not let his unfortunate childhood bring him down. Sasuke Uchiha - the stage manager and general backstage crew member - is his polar opposite, and a huge thorn in his side. After Naruto's initial offer of friendship was rudely turned down, he thought there was absolutely no way they would ever become friends, but now that Sasuke is finally venturing out on to the stage and treading the boards alongside him, will that change?Twinflames/Soulmates, Theatre/Modern AU, NaruSasu/SasuNaru - there will be hard times ahead, but that makes the pay off all the more sweet...
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 68
Kudos: 61
Collections: Extraordinary SNS Fics💕





	1. Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?

** _Prologue - The Audition_ **

_“Naruto.”_

_I look down at the shaking paper in my hands, trying to read each word carefully - and failing. Hey, it’s difficult when I’m battling with the butterflies in my stomach! That, and the intoxicating yet familiar feeling of blood rushing to my head, blurring my vision a bit._

_“Naruto?”_

_That rush, it’s why I come back to Konoha Theatre again and again; I can’t get enough of it. As I flick through the pages, my heart races faster and faster, and I can see the climax of the story unfold before me. I’m ready to jump in to the book, to breathe life to these characters, to-_

_“Naruto!” Someone hisses at me. Hmm... I thought I was just hearing things before... Anyway, whoever it is manages to break in to my field of vision, because they just pulled my script away to replace it with a face that’s way too far into my personal bubble - if I had one, anyway. It takes me a moment to focus on their face, so I blink a couple of times before recognizing the all too familiar green-eyed softness, framed by bright pink hair. A grin spreads across my face, despite her beautiful features being twisted in to a frown._

_“Hey Sakura!”_

_“Tsk- Naruto, I’ve been sat right next to you for thirty minutes and you’ve not said a word to me the whole time, did you even know I was here?” She asks impatiently, yet quiet enough so as not to disturb the auditions. I open my mouth to speak, but she promptly shuts me up. “Actually, don’t answer that. Honestly, Naruto, you’ve got to start paying more attention; I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes.”_

_“I’m sorry, Sakura...” I begin my well-practiced apology, one hand rubbing the back of my neck with an apologetic smile on my face. “I just, haven’t read a script this good for months...” I laugh nervously. “I can’t wait to audition for this one.”_

_“Oh really?” She answers, with a look on her face that makes me feel even more nervous. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “Well it’s a good thing they’re going to call your name next, then. You’d know if you were paying attention.”_

_“Hmm?” I tilt my head at her questioningly, and inwardly breathe a sigh of relief at avoiding her wrath. Then, as her words finally sink in, I frown and look back towards the stage. My frown deepens when I see who’s up there. We’re always called up alphabetically by surname, and usually it’s either my best friend Shikamaru, or the ‘Konoha Drama Youth Club’ kid Konohamaru that are up before me, but this... well I never expected HIM to be up there. “What the fuck?!”_

_“Shhh! Don’t ruin Sasuke’s focus!” Sakura chides, with a sharp elbow to my ribs for good measure. Well, my good mood is officially ruined: Not only do I just realize he’s reading for MY part, but when I look back at Sakura she’s giving him this look that I really don’t like... unless it’s directed at me, of course. Damn it, it was bad enough with him as stage manager, and having to watch Sakura practically hanging off him between her scenes, but now all her dreams are probably coming true at once; he’s auditioning for the romantic lead, and so is she. Damn it, damn it, damn it! I look back down at the script, and suddenly feel sick._

_It’s torture, honestly, sitting through Sasuke Uchiha’s annoyingly amazing audition. He never wanted to be on the stage, so why now?! I’m quietly seething to myself when my name is called._

_“Naruto Uzumaki!”_

_I take a deep breath and try to brush off my anger, get in the zone, become the character... Shit, if Sasuke has taken this ability away from me too, and I’m not able to give my best performance, I swear I’ll- ‘breathe Naruto’ the voice in my head speaks up as I walk up to the stage, script now shaking from anger instead of excitement, ‘channel your anger into the scene... turn it into passion; or whatever your acting coach Jiraiya says’. Well of course my inner voice is right. At one point in time, this inner voice used to fuel my anger... and at times like these I miss that. Damn therapy, helping me cope with my emotions better. I want nothing more than to launch myself at Sasuke, and punch that smug look off his handsome face. The voice of reason doesn't help me right now, either; being able to keep my personal feelings out of my performances is unfortunately my biggest hurdle._

_“You’re reading for the part of ‘Romeo’, correct?”_

_“Yup!” I try to grin through my anger and sound like my usual, happy-go-lucky self - but I probably just look like a snarling dog, or fox, or something..._

_“Okay, in your own time, Naruto.”_

_“Right...” I clear my throat and hold up the script, even though I know I don’t need it; I learned the lines weeks ago when the auditions were announced. Just as I’m about to start reading my first line, I make the mistake of looking out into the auditorium. I realize the severity of my mistake when I notice almost all the girls are muttering to each other, stealing glances at Sasuke and not even trying to be subtle. Great. Deep breath, Naruto; one, two, three..._

_“But, soft, what light through yonder window brea-”_

_“Why is he even trying, Sasuke’s obviously already got the part.”_

_“Yeah, he should just read for the Nurse or something.”_

_“Quiet, please!” Tsunade shouts back at the giggling duo who just interrupted my scene, then turns back to me with a kind smile - though I can see her eye is still twitching, and her smile is faltering. She must have given the girls her famous death stare, because when I look over to them I can see that all signs of laughter are gone, and they’re visibly shaking. Any other time or place, I would be laughing at that. In fact, somewhere deep in the back of my mind I can actually hear the laughter, but it can't quite reach my lips right now. “Sorry Naruto, please continue.”_

_“Uhh, sure.” I nod, finish the scene, and honestly? It was the worst performance I’ve ever given. I just really hope old lady Tsunade - and the rest of the aging casting team - can take my previous performances as the lead into consideration. Surely they know I can do better, right? I glare at Sasuke as I go back to my seat, and my blood boils when he looks back at me with that cool, smug look on his face, and he just shrugs! Asshole!_

_“That was good, Naruto.” Sakura smiles at me as I sit back down, but I can see right through it. I just huff in response, and sink lower in to my chair. Why do I let this guy get to me? It’s like he knows how to press all my buttons and I’m sure he does it on purpose, despite him claiming the opposite._  
_And that’s why I think it’s an absolute fucking joke when I find out a week later that Sasuke and Sakura got the parts of Romeo and Juliet. And I’m going to be playing the fucking Nurse. No small parts, only small actors, right? Bullshit._

_\---_

** Chapter 1 **

"God rest all Christian souls." Came the quiet, yet still audible whisper from just offstage.

"God rest all Christian souls! Were of an age: well, Susan is with God; she was too good for me: but, as I said... As I said... As I- uhhh..."

"On Lammas-eve."

"On Lammas-eve! Thanks Hinata! As I said, On Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen; That shall she, marry; I remember it well. 'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years; and she was wean'd, I never should... I never should... Argh! Forget it!!! Tsunade, oh wonderful director that you are, why am I, Naruto, a dude who should always plays the lead, playing the Nurse, a woman who's only purpose is comic relief! Argh! And why do I have to wear this itchy wig for rehearsals! Can't it wait until full dress?!" Naruto tugs impatiently at the pigtails of his blonde wig, feeling absolutely ridiculous and humiliated. Though he at least wouldn't let that show, not with Sasuke sitting just offstage watching his every move, and Sakura on stage with him. This was embarrassing enough, thank you very much.

"I want you to get used to it as soon as possible, I want it to feel like it's part of you well before dress rehearsals. And actually, Naruto, back in Shakespeare's day all female parts were played by men, so I want to pay homage to that. Would you rather I have you play Juliet?" Tsunade explained not-so-calmly, and Naruto looked over at Sasuke, horrified.

"Absolutely not!" He crossed his arms with a huff, and Sasuke raised one curious brow at the completely ridiculous scene in front of him. After that, Naruto continued running through the scene without too much fuss, with Shizune and Sakura playing Lady Capulet and Juliet - and Hinata occasionally prompting them for their lines; mostly Naruto's.

A couple of hours later, when everyone was packing up their things and saying their goodbyes after their first rehearsal, Sakura walked up to Sasuke as he was leaving the building.

"Hey, Sasuke, great job today..." She started, smiling at him in a way that she deemed appealing.

"Thanks Sakura, you too." He said with a nod and turned away from her, indicating that he didn't want a conversation right now. She didn't take the hint though, as he expected.

"Thanks Sasuke! So... Um... I was wondering, maybe, I thought it might be a good idea - and Tsunade didn't think it was a bad idea either - if, perhaps if we..."

"If we what, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice. He really didn't want to upset someone he would be spending the next few months working with.

"Um! I don't know, it might sound stupid, but I was thinking maybe it would help if we had some private rehearsals outside of the theatre? At my place or at yours?"

"Oh, no thanks Sakura, I think the official rehearsals will be enough. We've got to trust Tsunade knows what she's doing with this rehearsal schedule."

"Right, okay... Yeah you're right..."

"Is that all? I have to get going quite soon, so..." Sasuke said, walking to his car.

"Oh, yeah, I suppose that was all... See you Saturday then!" Sakura said, waving dejectedly before quickly leaving him by his car. Sasuke sighed, pulling his keys from his pocket when the theatre's back door opened with a bang, making him jump - much to his annoyance.

"Oooh, it's fucking freezing out here!" Naruto shouted while rubbing his hands together for emphasis, interrupting Sasuke's brief moment of peace. "Oh, Sasuke. Hi... Bye." He said quickly when he noticed Sasuke was the only other person out there, and rushed to his own car. Sasuke watched him get in, turn the key in the ignition, and listened to the car as it screeched, sputtered, and eventually stopped dead. Sasuke quickly got in to his own car, about to start it and pull away before Naruto had the chance to- "Yo, Sasuke!" Do that. Sasuke sighed and rolled down his passenger side window.

"What." He said, already irritated.

"Heheh, well... Everyone else is gone, and my car's dead. So I guess I'm taking a ride home with you."

"Are you?" Sasuke asked, and went to lock the doors but it was too late, Naruto was already in and putting his seat belt on before he even had a chance. He sighed again. "Fine, just make sure you give me the right directions and don't get us stuck in the middle of nowhere. Where do you live?"

"Uhh..."

"Naruto?"

"On the other side of the city... half an hour away..." Naruto answered, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning nervously.

"What?! Naruto-! No. Get a taxi."

"Please! I don't want to sit in a car with you for that long either, but do you know how much that'll cost me?!"

"You should have thought about that before buying such a shit car."

"Can't afford a new one, I don't have daddy's paycheck." He teased, sticking out his tongue.

"... Just shut up, you idiot. Do you really want a ride home? Because if you carry on like that you're looking to get kicked out half way back." Sasuke said, starting the car anyway despite his previous words. Naruto pouted.

"Sure, whatever." Naruto looked away, deciding that maybe if he looked out the window, he could pretend Sasuke wasn't even there, and that maybe he was being driven home by Sakura... Or maybe a robot! Naruto grinned at the thought. Soon enough, though, the silence was starting to eat away at him. Just giving Sasuke directions every so often wasn't enough. "Left here... Say, Sasuke..." He began, and Sasuke was barely able to contain the groan of frustration that threatened to pass his lips.

"What now, Naruto?" He asked, indicating left as the stopped at the lights.

"Why did you audition for a part in the play? You always seemed to prefer doing work backstage..."

"Do I need to explain myself to you?"

"No... I just wondered..."

"Well, keep wondering." Sasuke said, and turned left. His eye twitched when he could feel Naruto's eyes burning a hole in the side of his face, and he sighed for what felt like the one hundredth time that night. "Fine. Tsunade had a 'vision' or something," He started to explain, pausing a couple of times to listen to Naruto's directions. "And she wanted me to play Romeo. Wouldn't take no for an answer. I owed her for helping me out in the past, that's it. I had to audition officially, but the part was already mine weeks ago. Believe me, Naruto, I'd rather have stayed in the back and not have to deal with this, or associate myself with you or anyone else either. But here we are."

"... Why do you even bother at all, if you seem to hate the theatre so much?" Naruto asked uncharacteristically quietly, feeling hurt that the part was never his to begin with.

"Who said I hated the theatre?"

"Well, no-one, but..."

"Right, you just assumed. Is that all?"

"Sure, whatever." Naruto said with a wave of his hand, and Sasuke could tell that it definitely wasn't all, but he was glad that Naruto at least had the decency to read the mood and stop talking. The rest of the journey passed mostly in silence, except for Naruto occasionally giving directions, or drumming his fingers on the car door in that annoying way of his, and Sasuke praised some higher power he didn't quite believe in when Naruto said:

"Here!"

"Good, get out then."

"Sure. Thanks Sasuke." Naruto mumbled and shrugged, grudgingly. "Oh!" He said as he was leaving the car, turning around to lean on the door frame with his forearm. "Umm... I'm going to need someone to give me a lift back to the theatre for the next rehearsal... It's going to take forever to get a pickup arranged for my little Hyundai..."

"Fine. I'll pick you up, just get the hell out of my car."

"Right! Saturday at 7, it's a date!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder as he walked away, before running up his garden path.

"Idiot..." Sasuke muttered under his breath, frowning at the lack of conviction in his voice as he drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter! This is going to be a story very special to me, and will be loosely based on some of my own experiences so please be kind <3 I don't know how many chapters there will be yet - but I'm thinking around 10 to 15 ... Join me on this ride and let's see what happens! Do leave a comment and a bookmark if you enjoyed this, I appreciate any and all the support :) there’s plenty more to come!
> 
> P.S I have written up the cast list for Romeo & Juliet, let me know if you want to see it and I'll post it in the end notes of the next chapter ;) hehe
> 
> P.P.S this is community theatre haha.
> 
> \- GiiBii x


	2. Friendship Is But A Cup of Ramen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly who does this loser Naruto think he is? Let's find out, in; the daily life of Uzumaki Naruto. Follow Naruto around town, to the theatre, and some of his other favourite places - including the Japanese-owned ramen shop in Konoha's Japantown; Ichiraku Ramen. Aaaah, pretty much the perfect day for our Naruto Uzuma- wait, who is this black haired bastard that keeps showing up?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks for the bookmark and Kudos' on the last chapter! So, by now I've now drafted up a chapter plan for this story, and it looks like there might be about 60-70k+ words and 19/20 chapters (including an epilogue) - can you guys handle that? ;) heheh, of course you can. Come on, we ship SNS, patience comes with the territory - honestly, how many of y'all are STILL waiting for these two to profess their undying love for each other, even in the Boruto era?! Haha.  
> I'll be following a weekly schedule for each chapter, so look out for updates every Monday or Tuesday from now on! (With the exception of one special chapter; But I'll keep the release date for that one a surprise!)
> 
> PS; I've made a playlist for this story on Spotify; just search the playlist name (Backstage of My Mind fic). Some might be directly referenced in the story, some might not... But if you want a little taste of what's to come/get in to the minds of the characters in this AU a little, then have a listen! ;) I'll probably keep adding and taking from it as the story progresses.

Naruto hummed to himself as he walked, feeling very characteristically happy on this sunny day. Sure, he wouldn't deny it sucked not having the freedoms that his little, orange (he'd spent so long saving up for that specific paint job), 12 year old Hyundai i10 provided, but at least he could appreciate the hustle and bustle of Konoha City - so long as he avoided his own personal no-go zones. He didn't quite feel like taking any of the abusive language that would surely be hurled at him if he ever ventured in to them, thank you very much! Sometimes it was unavoidable, but thankfully not today - not where he was going.

Yes, in his own humble opinion, life was good for Naruto Uzumaki right now. Sure, a certain black haired asshole was getting on his nerves at Konoha Theatre - where, until recently, he felt like he could get away from all of life's stresses - and maybe he found himself looking around every so often to make sure he didn't bump in to said bastard, but damn it, he was nothing if not impossibly optimistic.

If anyone asked (and nobody ever really did), he would say his happiness was his biggest strength. God knows he'd been through some shit - growing up as the unwanted orphan child of an apparently not-well-liked couple, drifting in and out of the foster care system more often than he should have; and enduring the painful cycle of foster parent to foster parent, and all the unique struggles that came with such a life, then wash-rinse-repeat until his 18th birthday three years ago.

But, despite all of that, he had fought tooth and nail to be the happy young man he is today; purely from the strength of his own grit, determination, and gutsyness. What choice did he have? It was a long and hard fight, but he didn't see a point to living life a victim of his circumstance. That would have meant life had won, knocked and beaten him down, destroyed him. No. Naruto Uzumaki was a fighter. But sometimes - it took him a while to accept - sometimes, he needed a little help in the fray...

**'Tree of Life Therapy'** \- Naruto looked up at the brown sign printed on to the glass pane above the green door, and smiled. He loved his monthly sessions with Yamato (even though they were scary at first, until Yamato learned how to reign in his 'natural creepiness', as Naruto had called it) - and he'd definitely go more often if he could afford it!

He'd tried many therapists in his short life, but none of them seemed to fit right until Kakashi, a regular fixture at the theatre - and Naruto's good friend and mentor - recommended the Tree of Life. He pushed open the door with a grin on his face, and soaked up the calming atmosphere inside.

Yamato had managed to soundproof the space unbelievably well; as soon as the door shut, the sounds of the city were gone. If he closed his eyes and took a deep breath - and he did - the room freshener and birdsong playing quietly through the speakers in the waiting room created a specific ambiance, and he could pretend he was now in the middle of a sunny, leafy forest. It calmed him down so much, and stirred up memories that didn't even belong to him - there was a sense of familiarity there; yet he'd spent his whole life in an urban atmosphere. But hey, who was he to question it?

Naruto sat down in the plush, brown sofa facing the window to the street; it was a one way window with a woodland display on the outside, to maintain a safe space for clients whilst still allowing them to feel like they weren't caged in... At least, that's how Yamato had explained it, when Naruto had finally asked. He'd been confused at first, but now he was definitely seeing the benefits of it as he quietly watched the world go by - a small and quiet calmness in his usually big and loud world.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" A calm voice gently cut in to Naruto's daydream; one about the kind of ramen he was going to have once he was done here. Char Siu with extra Menma; perfect. Naruto wiped his lips with the back of sleeve - in case he was drooling... Again - and stood up to face Yamato, who was standing in the doorway to his office.

"Here!" Naruto grinned, and followed him in to the room.

"So, Naruto..." Yamato began once they were comfortably sat down opposite each other, in chairs that matched the suite out in the waiting room. "How has this month been for you?" He asked, glancing briefly at Naruto's notes on his desk. "Last time we spoke, you were preparing for some auditions again..." He said, trying to jog Naruto's memory a little without being too obvious - Naruto could be quite forgetful at times, he had quickly learned.

"Yeah, I remember..." He answered, with a hint of unhappiness in his voice. Yamato shifted slightly in his seat, it looked like this might end up becoming another intense session. He held back a grimace when he remembered the time Naruto almost destroyed this very room in a blind rage... He knew this wouldn't happen again; over the years he had become quite skilled in talking Naruto down before it got to that point. Still, it was his job to help Naruto work through his emotions, so if it came to that again... Well... They'd cross that bridge when they got to it. Naruto slid down a little in his seat, and tried to avoid eye contact - a warning sign. Yamato made a quick note of it, before continuing.

"Did something happen, Naruto?" He asked, maintaining his soft voice and calm composure.

"I made a fool out of myself, and Kyuubi threatened to come out right there on stage, at the audition..." Naruto said quietly, controlling his breathing pattern; in through the nose for four counts, and out through the mouth for the same, just like they had practiced.

_'Kyuubi tried to make an appearance at a bad audition - why?'_

Yamato jotted this down in his notes, and put a few bullet points below it to fill in with the reasons Naruto gave.

"Can you talk me through it, Naruto? From start to finish - can you do that for me?" He asked, and Naruto nodded - still not making eye contact.

"Yeah... I was sitting in the auditorium and reading the script while I waited for my turn, I was very excited and my fingers were tingling..." He frowned as he concentrated, trying to remember the physical sensations; his 'tells', as Yamato called them. "Sakura brought me back to earth and scalded me for getting carried away - I had, but I couldn't help it! It was that rush of blood to my head that I've told you about before, when I read a script that I really, really like - Anyway, when I looked up, somebody was on stage reading for the same part - have I told you about Sasuke before?" He asked, finally looking up. Yamato nodded, silently allowing him to continue. "Right, it was him, and he got the part that I was really excited about, but he has never wanted to be on stage... Anyway, apparently Tsunade, the director, specifically wanted him to play that part, as part of her 'vision' ... It sounds so silly, Captain," Naruto said, finally using the nickname he had given Yamato, as a way of trying to lighten the mood. "I know it does, but at the time - I saw red again. I couldn't read the words and my hands were shaking, my head felt light and fuzzy, and I just-" He sighed, and looked away. He didn't speak again for a while, and practiced his breathing instead.

Yamato quietly filled in some of the bullet points on his sheet of paper, patiently waiting for Naruto to calm down. He thought about how proud he was of him; he'd come so far in dealing with his anger issues, but he knew they had lots of other things to work on - anxiety, bouts of low mood - and the cause was rooted much deeper than either of them had gone yet, even after a few year's worth of these therapy sessions; they could only go so far with one session a month. Right now, however, he was a little concerned that Kyuubi - the name Naruto gave his fits of rage (it helped him cope with them better) - almost came out at the audition; it had been a while, after all. If Sasuke was the trigger again, like last time, then perhaps he should suggest Naruto stay away from the theatre for a while... But telling Naruto something like that was easier said than done - he'd probably have more luck telling him he could never eat ramen again for the rest of his life.

"In that moment..." Naruto finally spoke up. "I think if Kyuubi had come out, I would have really hurt Sasuke... Or somebody else. I don't want to lose all the progress we've made..." He finally admitted, shuddering at the thought.

"But you didn't, Naruto, you did very well."

"Thanks, Captain." Naruto looked back at him again, and finally, there was a smile on his face. Yamato smiled back. "I'm going to get Char Siu ramen once I leave your office." He grinned. The thought of ramen always cheered him up.

"Sounds like you deserve it!" Yamato said, still smiling in that way Naruto found the least creepy. He knew that he had to maintain a certain professional barrier between himself and his clients, but Naruto - he had grown quite fond of him, and saw him almost like a younger brother. Still, he kept up some blocks between them; he wouldn't feel comfortable charging for these sessions if he got _too_ attached, after all. He already gave him one free session on every sixth month, the rest being 25% off - citing Naruto's living situation and low income as the reason. He couldn't do any more than that, without being highly unprofessional.

"So, is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" Yamato asked, and they continued their session with a slightly lighter atmosphere than before. Naruto mentioned how he'd felt hurt by what he saw as a betrayal by Tsunade, and Yamato agreed that it was probably wrong of her to offer the part to Sasuke, yet still allow other people to audition for it - but that was amateur dramatics, for you. It could be a completely unprofessional and toxic environment, at times. Naruto himself didn't want to stay there for much longer; he had dreams of becoming a professional actor - with a large amount of success. "I want to put Konoha back on the map, and raise lots of money for the theatre!" He said, whenever it was brought up in their sessions, and Yamato always responded with a fond smile; Naruto's dreams had always been just as big as his personality - at least for as long as they'd known each other.

"See ya next month, Captain!" Naruto shouted back through the door once his session was done, head turned to look over his right shoulder. Yamato shut the door behind him with a 'goodbye' and a smile, and only then did Naruto finally turn around. He gasped, and his eyes widened at who he saw sat right there on the sofa, where he had been only an hour earlier. A pair of dark, expressionless eyes were silently staring back at him. "Sasuke?"

"Naruto." Sasuke said, nodding at him in acknowledgement. Naruto was almost about to tease him for being here, of all places, but stopped short when he remembered he was there too. That, and he also suddenly remembered that specific, painful sting of being called weak for seeking therapy. It wasn't weak; This was a sign of strength! Maybe Sasuke saw it that way, too. _"I wonder why he's here"_ Naruto thought to himself... Then he quickly shook his head, trying not to dwell on it, and walked out of the building onto the busy street. He had a hot date, and her name was Ichiraku Ramen - he rubbed his hands together, licked his lips, and set off down the street with a spring in his step; he didn't want to keep her waiting!

***

"Aah, am I glad to see a friendly face!" Naruto said to the person next to him with a grin, while he waited for his order of Char Siu ramen ("extra menma please, Teuchi!"). He had just been ogling the big basket of eggs in front of him, that he hadn't even noticed anyone else was there until a quiet mumble came from beside him - a small and timid voice that could only belong to one person. "So... I didn't know you liked ramen too, Hinata? I've never seen you here before..."

"Uh, yeah, Naruto... I- I love it." She admitted with a shy smile on her face, but avoided his second statement.

"Awesome! Maybe after rehearsals we could come here sometimes! Mmhm, and maybe we could invite the rest of the cast! Oh... But wait... My car's broken down, so we can't do that..." He trailed off sadly. He doubted that Sasuke would agree to drive them all there, either. _"It's a miracle he's even allowing_ me _in his precious car"_ Naruto thought - and that was only 'cause he didn't really give him much choice. Naruto inwardly laughed at the memory - if he had made him feel uncomfortable, then he deserved it! Even though deep down Naruto knew Sasuke wasn't at fault... But he didn't want to think about that again, he had better things to be doing!

"Oh, that's a shame, Naruto..." Hinata all but whispered, her voice being drowned out by the street behind them; Ichiraku's was a typical ramen street stall in Konoha's busy Japantown area - Naruto's favourite part of town - so it could get quite loud, as all that separated the seating area from the street outside were low-hanging sheets of fabric.

"Huh?! Sorry Hinata, I didn't hear you!" Naruto got very close to her face to try and hear her, and in response her face rapidly went from pale, to bright red.

"Um, N-Naruto? You're too close..." She said, looking like she might faint, and this time Naruto did hear her. He apologised sheepishly, and backed away while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Honestly, Naruto, have a bit more tact will you!"

"Sakura!" He exclaimed happily, ignoring his friend's comment and turning to face her as she lifted up the fabric, and entered the stall. "Finally accepting that ramen date with me, huh?" He teased, wiggling his eyebrows. From somewhere in the kitchen, Naruto heard a woman let out a bark of laughter. Naruto frowned, Teuchi's daughter could be so cruel sometimes... Still, he had no idea how she could hear him in there; the kitchen must be so noisy... "But I bet it smells soooo gooood..." He accidentally said out loud, a dreamy look taking over his face as he imagined what it would be like working back there every day. He could almost give up his dream for that... Almost! All the ramen he could eat... Now that would be a different dream come true.

Sakura shook her head as she sat down on his other side - annoyed by the fact that she knew exactly what her best friend was thinking; she definitely spent way too much time with him. _"Honestly, I shouldn't encourage him"_ she thought to herself, with a quiet sigh.

"So, Juliet, maybe you could tell Tsunade you'd much prefer _me_ to be your Romeo..." He said, continuing his playful flirting with a wink - he was partly joking, partly serious; she was his best friend, but he definitely wouldn't say no if she asked him out... Still, it was comfortable between them (most of the time), and he was happy with the way it was.

"Not a chance in Hell, Naruto." She said, crossing her arms and turning away from him, but he could see the hint of a small smile on her face. He didn't push it any further, because he had known her long enough to know he was about to cross their unspoken line... That, and his ramen had just arrived so, naturally, he forgot all about Hinata and Sakura for a few moments - all that mattered was him, his beloved ramen, and the chopsticks in his hand.

"Itadakimasu!"

***

Naruto tapped his foot against the pavement nervously, and he frowned down at said foot when it wouldn't stop. _"Seriously, all I did was bump in to Sasuke in the captain's waiting room two days ago, nothing to be nervous about... Where_ is _the bastard, anyway?! We'll be late..."_ He thought to himself, looking up and down the street for any sign or sound of Sasuke's car.

A few more minutes passed, and he wrapped his coat around himself tighter, trying in vain to keep himself warm against the October chill. He'd definitely told Sasuke seven o'clock, right? Was he late on purpose?

Naruto was broken out of his reverie by the distant, yet unmistakable sound of the purring vtec engine of a Honda Civic. What a show off - there was no need for it in such a quiet residential area, no matter how good it sounded...

Naruto walked quickly down the garden path, calling out to Sasuke - who had just pulled up in front of his house - as he went. "Hey, you're late, I thought maybe you'd forgotten what day it was!"

"It's October 3rd." Sasuke said under his breath, as Naruto leaned against the window.

"What?"

"Nothing." Sasuke sighed, waiting for Naruto to move. "Get in, loser."

"Me? A loser? Nah!" Naruto said, flashing that blindingly bright grin of his. Sasuke wondered how his teeth were so ridiculously, unnaturally white. Once Naruto was inside, Sasuke set off driving without another word. The first ten minutes of the ride passed in silence, but Sasuke knew by now that it wouldn't be long before Naruto felt compelled to fill that silence.

"So... Nice car, Sasuke..."

"Yep."

"Yep... Say! Now we're on the bigger roads..." Naruto began, emphasising the last two words. "You can show me what this girl can do, without annoying my neighbours!" He said, giving Sasuke an empty grin - it didn't take a genius to hear the accusation underneath his words and fake smile.

"I can do what I want with my own car, wherever I want to." He answered back, but started to rev the car and quickly increase it's speed, anyway. 50, 60, 70... 90... 100mph. Naruto shouted out happily, exhilarated by the sudden rush of adrenaline and endorphins.

"Wooo! Awesome!" He said with a laugh, looking out the car window as the world passed quickly by. Sasuke allowed himself a small smile at his fr-... At Naruto's clear euphoria; what else could he do, idiocy was an infectious disease. He slowed his car down, as the roads began to twist and turn again.

"Wow... Well, Sasuke, not to put a damper on things but... I have news - good or bad it's up to you to decide."

"... Hit me." Sasuke said, bracing himself for whatever was going to come out of Naruto's mouth.

"You want me to hit you? Sasuke, I didn't know you were into that kinda stuff..."

"Not literally, you idiot! I meant, tell me!"

"Oh right! Okay, yeah my cars fucked."

"It's fucked." He repeated, deadpan.

"Yeah, I somehow managed to get someone out to look at it earlier today, but the repair costs were way too high... So... I had to sell it for scrap..." Naruto had felt quite upset when he got the news - he'd loved his little car; it had done so much for him and taken him to some amazing places - he'd even given it a name. "My poor little Beepster..." He sniffed.

"You... You named your car Beepster?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep his voice monotone, but failing as a snicker threatened to break through.

"Hey! What's wrong with it!"

"Well, the fact you named it at all is what's wrong; obviously you got attached to it, and now look."

"Yeah, well, at least I have a ride to the theatre now, so I don't have to worry about that. Even if it is with someone who refuses to be my friend..."

"I didn't- wait. Naruto. I can't-"

"Sasuke, you have to! The show must go on! And rehearsals will simply fall apart if I'm not there!"

"Calm down, Naruto." Sasuke said, biting his tongue and the temptation to point out that, for his particular part, Tsunade wouldn't have much problem finding a replacement. "Guess that leaves me no choice, then, again..." He said anyway, with a sigh.

"Thanks, Sasuke! It's just until I get a new car." He said, and didn't speak again after that. For the next few minutes, they sat in a mostly uncomfortable silence, lulled in to a somewhat hypnotic trance by the motions of the car and the lights passing. Then, Sasuke surprised himself for being the one to break the silence this time.

"Naruto, what you said..."

"Mmm?" Naruto prompted, his now warm cheek pressed up against the cool glass.

"I don't recall ever refusing to be your friend."

"Uh, excuse me, Sasuke, I distinctly remember offering you one of my packets of cup ramen during rehearsals last year when you joined the theatre, and you slapped it out of my hand!"

" _That_ was an offer of friendship? Cup ramen?!"

"Well, yeah!" Naruto almost whined, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You really are an idiot..." Sasuke said, shaking his head. "So that's why you started to hate me, 'cause I didn't want to accept your unhealthy snack? Seriously?"

"Well, no, you were mean to me first." Naruto mumbled, pouting.

"I don't remember it that way."

"Well, of course you wouldn't!" Naruto almost shouted in exasperation. An awkward silence fell between them once more, until Naruto finally lost their silent battle of 'who will speak first', and spoke up. "If I offered you some cup ramen now, would you accept it?"

"... Maybe." Sasuke said, and Naruto grinned. Sasuke may be a no-good-dirty-rotten-part-stealing bastard, but Naruto was willing to admit that maybe, _maybe_ , he had been wrong, and maybe Sasuke wasn't the cold-hearted bastard Naruto was convinced he was, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody:  
> Me: Here's the Konoha Theatre Cast List for Romeo and Juliet!
> 
> Romeo Montague - Sasuke  
> Juliet Capulet - Sakura  
> Rosaline - Ino  
> Mercutio - Kiba  
> Benvolio Montague - Choji  
> Tybalt Capulet (Juliet's Cousin) - Shino  
> The Nurse - Naruto  
> Friar Laurence - Kakashi  
> Lord Capulet (Juliet's Dad) - Danzo  
> Lady Capulet (Juliet's Mum) - Shizune  
> Paris (Juliet's suitor) - Lee  
> Prince Escalus of Verona - Jiraiya (after original unnamed actor drops out)  
> Lord and Lady Montague (Romeo's mum and dad) - Neji & Tenten, made up to look older.  
> Balthasar (Romeo's servant) - Konohamaru  
> Sampson/Gregory/Peter (capulet servants) - Konohamaru (Balthasar takes their place)  
> Abraham (montague servant) - Shikamaru  
> The Apothecary (who sells romeo the poison) - Lee (in a wig)  
> Prompt/Chorus - Hinata
> 
> I gave this more thought than I should have, haha...  
> Let me know if you picked up on the two movie references I hid in here ;)


	3. yes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto wakes up from another strange nightmare, and Sasuke and Naruto gradually grow closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some mild triggers in this chapter; brief mention of (fictional) domestic violence, emetophobia.

Naruto looked around his moon-drenched bedroom, feeling the restrictive sheets clinging to his hot, damp skin. His left foot was hanging out over the edge of the bed, and his right was still under the covers and _unbearably_ hot and itchy. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand, and used the items in his room to anchor him back to reality; the ramen poster on the wall above his desk, the closed laptop on said desk, his calendar next to that, and the Romeo and Juliet script he fell asleep reading that now lay discarded on his bedroom floor.

  
Satisfied that everything was the way it should have been, Naruto got out of bed to go to the adjacent bathroom, breathing a sigh of relief at the cool air hitting his overheated skin, and the release of uncomfortable pressure as he relieved himself. He'd had this nightmare a couple of times before, and as he washed his hands and went back to his bedroom, he thought back to the dream and tried to remember how it unfolded; his therapist was always keen to know the details, but he often forgot the specifics by the time their next session arrived. " _Perhaps I should write it down this time._ " He thought to himself, as he pulled a notebook and pen from his desk drawer and sat bathed in the moon's white-cold ray, that fell on his desk chair.

  
_There I was again, in a forest that I knew like the back of my hand, except... I'd never been there in my life. It always feels so real, though, so familiar. I jumped forward from the tree branch that I was standing on, but I didn't fall - I was propelling myself forwards from branch to branch, accelerating a bit more each time..._

Naruto hunched further over his paper, as he continued to write; becoming lost in the dream once more.

_I can feel the presence of people behind me, but I'm not worried about them; I think we're jumping through the trees together. All I know for sure is that I can't stop thinking about that guy, Sasuke - the one from the theatre. Here in this dream, Konoha exists but I don't think it's the Konoha I know... But I know that's where I live - it's Konoha, but it's not Konoha? That doesn't make much sense... But that's how dreams work, I suppose. I think I'm trying to find him - Sasuke, well, this dream version of Sasuke that I've still not met yet, even though I've had this kind of dream many times - usually when I have this dream, trying to find him is like trying to find a needle in a haystack - but not this time... I'm following a lead, a rumour, this time I will find him and bring him home. Home... Konoha. This strange dream version of it, anyway. I've had dreams where I just walk the streets of this place too, and sometimes I eat ramen, haha... Well, anyway: I carry on jumping through this forest for a long time, and I refuse to stop. It passes quickly in the dream, but I know by the time we reach our destination that it's been days of this; running, jumping, resting... Chasing after something, someone. So we get there, and I'm speechless at the scene in front of me. I'm standing in the destruction left over from what must have been an intense battle, and on a small section of wall still standing, there is a simple image of a round fan, coloured white and red. It strikes me with an unbearable feeling of longing, which is replaced with total despair and desperation when I realise that Sasuke was here, but he isn't anymore. I was so close... So close... And that's when I woke up..._

Naruto sighed, and took a few moments to ground himself again. " _It's not real, it's not real..._ " He repeated to himself a few times. Once back in the present moment, he remembered one final detail. He reached a hand up to his face to gently run his fingers over his cheeks, to make sure he remembered it right; yes - he could feel the remains of the partially dried tears still resting there. " _So I woke up crying._ " he thought to himself, as he added it to his notes.

The clock read 6.13am, and Naruto heaved a deep sigh when he noticed. He'd been looking forward to sleeping in until at least 10am on his day off, but he was too wide awake to go back to sleep now. Instead he got up, and went down the hall of his ground floor apartment to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast, absentmindedly stretching and scratching his stomach as he went. He frowned when he heard a bump on his ceiling; so his upstairs neighbours, Kotetsu and Izumo, were awake. He had always wondered about them... When he first met them one morning, as he was moving his boxes inside, they had introduced themselves as each other's best friend, but judging by the rhythmic creaking and groaning he sometimes heard coming from what he guessed was their bedroom... Well, it didn't sound like something just best friends did. But he wasn't about to _ask_ them about it.

The fridge hummed quietly, and his face was flooded with artificial light when he opened the door. He pulled out the carton of milk, and gave it a shake before immediately making a face at what he heard. Just to make sure, he opened the top of the milk and gave it a sniff; yep. Definitely gone off. "Phew, that was close..." He whispered, pouring the milk down the sink and retching at the strong smell that wafted upwards. He'd made the mistake of eating expired milk too many times in the past, and definitely wouldn't be making it again in a hurry. "Guess it's instant ramen for breakfast, again..." He said, licking his smiling lips, knowing that probably wasn't a good idea but not really caring - today was going to be a good day, unhealthy breakfast or not.

* * *

It was only later on that Naruto regretted eating junk food for breakfast, as his stomach gurgled unhappily during his session with his acting coach.

"Alright Naruto, one more time."

"Again? But that was a perfect performance, I can't top that!"

"Try me, kid. Come on, from the top; let's see this monologue one more time, and this time try to implement my feedback."

"Fine, but stop calling me kid, I'm turning 21 at the weekend..." Naruto mumbled, but cleared his throat and (reluctantly) prepared to start again. Naruto had been working with his acting coach, Jiraiya, since he was 17. Jiraiya could be quite persistant, when he wanted to be. Naruto had often threatened to find another teacher, but never followed through with his threats because he knew nobody could get the best out of him like Jiraiya could, and nobody quite understood him as well, either - except his therapist, perhaps, but that was a given. No, Jiraiya just seemed to intuitively know... Most of the time, anyway.

"Good, good..." Jiraiya said slowly, looking thoughtful when Naruto finished the Nurse's monologue; Naruto had decided to use his sessions with Jiraiya to get extra rehearsal time - not something he usually did, but he thought he should get some extra help with Shakespeare; the words were already confusing and this monologue was all over the place.

"Well? How was it?" Naruto asked, impatiently.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Naruto, I was just thinking about the scene I'm working on in my new novel." He laughed sheepishly, ignoring Naruto's noises of protest.

"It better have been important, and not something perverted again!"

"Of course not!" Jiraiya waved off Naruto's accusation a bit too enthusiastically, and in such a way that was not at all convincing.

“Where you even paying attention?” Naruto asked, huffing for emphasis.

“Of course I was! I think you took on board what I said quite well, that time around... But try to keep yourself busy instead of thinking too much about your lines - Tsunade's notes for this scene where that the Nurse is bustling around stage, dusting and rearranging things, right?" He asked, and Naruto nodded. "Well, once you know the words inside out, it’ll become a lot more natural, and you'll be able to do the lines without even thinking - no matter what Tsunade throws at you. You have no problems with projection; well, you’ve always been kind of loud... anyway! Knowing the lines will come with time.” He said, nodding with finality. "Just keep learning your lines and practicing it at home, and you'll be a Shakespeare pro in no time!"

“Okay...” Naruto nodded. “But I still don’t really understand what the hell wormwood is and why it's on my nipple?!” He asked, frowning.

“Ah- you see, well..." Jiraiya began, feeling a little flustered as he worked out how best to answer Naruto's question. "It’s what women in those times used to, uh... well, let's put it this way; the nurse is talking about how she used to literally _nurse_ Juliet, right?" He asked, hoping Naruto would catch on to what he was getting at. Getting no response from Naruto, he sighed and continued, pulling nervously at the collar of his red shirt. "So then she rambles on to talk about how she weaned Juliet off breast milk ... by putting wormwood on her breasts to make it taste bad...” Jiraiya explained, a faint blush on his cheeks. Naruto groaned in frustration, cursing his bad luck.

“Oh God, this sucks!”

“Yeah, you really drew the short end of the stick there... but I know you can make this part one of the best in the show, by bringing your endless energy to it! Because, well that’s just in your nature... I honestly don’t know where you get the energy from, to work so early in the morning and perform late in the evening.”

“Yeah yeah, doesn't matter how I do that, let's just carry on before I decide to leave the show..."

"Right, well no matter how embarrassing this part is, I don't think you'll want to be backing out so soon..." Jiraiya said, a wide and satisfied grin growing on his face.

"Why not?"

"Tsunade called me, _personally_ , and asked me to play the part of ' _Prince Escalus of Verona_ '." He boasted, sticking his chest out and striking a strange victory pose with his left hand forward, and his right foot behind him. "She must have realised she missed my talent and handsome face, and wants to recreate the good old days, back when we went to Konoha Drama School together."

Naruto shook his head with a smile, knowing that Tsunade's first choice for the Prince had backed out, and Jiraiya had clearly left that little detail out of his mini victory speech. "Cool!" Naruto's smile got bigger, and all traces of annoyance were now gone from his face. "Maybe you can give me extra tutoring at rehearsals?"

"Hahaha no, not unless you're paying!" Jiraiya laughed with a grin, and then held out his hand. "Which reminds me, you still owe me for this session, and the last." He opened and closed his fist a few times, darting his eyes over to Naruto's frog-shaped wallet on the chair at the back of the room. "Open up, Gama-chan!"

* * *

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto said, as he jumped in to the passenger side of Sasuke's car later that evening.

"Hey." Was Sasuke's clipped response, as he quickly pulled away down Naruto's street.

"... You okay?" He asked, sensing that something seemed off about Sasuke - more than usual, anyway.

"Is it your business if I'm okay or not?" He asked, frowning.

"Yeah of course it is! You're my friend now, you accepted the hypothetical friendship ramen and there's no turning back, sorry. You should know this is how I treat my friends, I let them know I care." He said, sticking out his tongue and winking at Sasuke, even though he knew he wouldn't see it when he was concentrating on the road.

"Okay loser, whatever, but this is personal, so..."

"Right, gotcha!" Naruto said, deciding not to push it further. Maybe once he got Sasuke to warm up a bit, he would be able to talk to him. He had the impression that Sasuke probably didn't have any friends to talk to, and the therapist they both saw - while very good at his job - wouldn't be enough without a support network; Naruto could personally vouch for that. "What's your favourite colour?" He asked, wanting to get to know Sasuke a bit more and asking the first question that came to mind.

"What?"

"You know, like yellow or purple or something... Is it blue? I bet it's blue." He said, gesturing to Sasuke's blue t-shirt.

"Yeah, it's blue."

"I knew it. Mine's orange." He said with a smile. "Where do you live? Do you have any brothers or sisters?" He asked, and his smile faltered when he notice Sasuke tensed up at the question.

"I live where I grew up, in the Uchiwa Quarter, and I have one older brother - but he doesn't live here anymore. Neither do my parents." He said, keeping any emotion out of his voice despite his tense shoulders and frown. Naruto had heard of the Uchiwa Quarter; it was named after the old Uchiha clan that used to live there hundreds of years ago, when Konoha was still a village. The clan had disappeared a long time ago, but eventually the clan name had resurfaced - albeit they no longer had the mythical Sharingan; nobody had any of the old powers that ninjas in this land were said to have had - it was all legend at this point, and nobody believed things such as super human strength and the ability to manipulate the elements were possible. Ninjas were just ninjas, who fought with weapons like most warriors. Naruto often wondered if there was any truth to it, though, but decided not to spend too much time thinking about it. After all, there was also a time in history when people believed in witches and witchcraft, so it probably wasn't true.

"Oh right... I've only been there once, it's nice." Naruto commented, remembering the time he had accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up there; it was the pricier part of town, and the further he drove in to it the expensive restaurants, shops, and other businesses gave way to some very expensive looking houses. " _I wonder how he can afford to live there alone..._ " Naruto thought to himself, before realising something. "Oh! I lied, I've actually been there twice!" He said, grinning.

"Oh?" Sasuke prompted, when Naruto didn't continue.

"Yeah, I was about six years old, and I was running away from my foster parents..." He explained, and Sasuke frowned at how casually Naruto slipped in that bit of information. Naruto didn't notice his frown, though. "I didn't know where I was going, but I just kept running and I ended up there. When I realised I was lost and I didn't know where I was, I stopped running and started crying. That's when I saw another kid about my age, with hair like yours; hey, maybe it was you! Anyway, he seemed pretty upset sitting by Uchiwa Lake, and I wanted to go and talk to him, but I was too nervous, so I didn't..." He trailed off, frowning slightly at the memory. He had no friends then, either, and he remembered desperately wanting to be friends with the boy who seemed as lonely as he was.

"Oh... It could have been me, I used to sit by that river a lot..." Sasuke said quietly, deep in thought.

"Wouldn't that be nice, after all this time, I got what I wanted." Naruto smiled and, finally, Sasuke smiled back. Not a hint, not a ghost of a smile, but a real one. Naruto held his breath for a moment at the sight - it was beautiful, and he couldn't think of any other word to describe it, no matter how hard he tried.

"You're an idiot." Sasuke said, a hint of fondness hidden in his voice.

"At least I'm not a bastard." Naruto answered, grinning. Sasuke just huffed in response, but the smile never left his face. It was still there as they walked in to the theatre together, about fifteen minutes later. Their little bubble burst, however, when they were snapped back to reality by a certain pink haired friend. Naruto's grin grew wider, but Sasuke's disappeared completely. "Hey Sakura! Looking forward to rehearsing our scene today?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows as Sakura blushed.

"Tsunade said we'll be blocking* that scene in private, outside of regular rehearsals... We're just running lines for it tonight..." Sakura mumbled, embarrassed. The scene in question involved quite an intimate conversation between Romeo and Juliet, after they had just slept together - when Naruto, as the Nurse, is supposed to interrupt them. Tsunade had really liked the way they had done that scene in the movie version of the story, filmed in the 90s. Even though Naruto couldn't wait to block that particular scene, he did think it was a bit unoriginal. He thought Tsunade should be coming up with new, fresh ideas for her version of the play, not copying someone else's vision.

"Oh well." Naruto shrugged it off, not pushing it anymore because Sakura was clearly uncomfortable with the topic; probably because Sasuke was stood right next to her.

"All right you three! Get up here!" Naruto heard Tsunade shout from the auditorium, her loud voice echoing down the stairs and through to the green room where the three of them stood. They rushed up the stairs and when they reached the top, they noticed everyone else was already up there, sitting and waiting for them; Hinata, Choji, Kiba, Kakashi, Shizune, and an elderly looking man Naruto had never seen before. This was everyone who's scenes they were rehearsing tonight; act two - scenes one and three, and act three scene five. Judging by the process of elimination, Naruto guessed the old man was playing Lord Capulet - Juliet's father. Naruto shuddered, feeling bad for Sakura; he looked quite scary...

"Hey Tsunade!" Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, while Sakura simultaneously apologised.

"Yes, just take a seat you three, and let's get started." She said with a sigh, rubbing her temples. Naruto looked at Sasuke, second guessing himself for a split second before grabbing his new friend's sleeve, and pulling him to take the seat next to him. Sakura looked confused, as she was used to Naruto insisting that they sat together; she'd never expected that to change any time soon. On top of that, she wondered at what point the two had become friends, but she shrugged it off and took a seat behind Tsunade, next to Hinata.

"Stop pulling me, I'm not a child." Sasuke hissed quietly, frowning at the treatment.

"Sorry," Naruto whispered back, sitting down next to Kakashi, who just watched them curiously out the corner of his eye. "Had the feeling you were just going to walk off and sit on your own, otherwise."

"Hn." Was his only response, because he didn't want to tell Naruto he was actually right. Kakashi smirked at the two, but it remained hidden under the mask he always wore (for reasons he never divulged).

Sasuke didn't stay sat next to Naruto for long, however, because he was called up for every scene that night. Another mistake on Tsunade's part, Naruto thought. He had too many lines for one night and they probably wouldn't stick in his mind as easily, but Naruto wasn't completely surprised to watch as Sasuke needed the script less and less as the evening went on. By the time Naruto was finally called for his scene, he was almost asleep.

"Yep! Coming!" He shouted loudly, trying to cover up the loud snort he had made in shock when he had been rudely broken out of his semi-sleep. It hadn't worked, he noticed, as he walked up to the stage, seeing Kiba and Choji giggling to themselves. Even Hinata looked like she was trying not to laugh, Naruto noticed with a frown. 

"Wait backstage - stage right - for your cue line, please; it's on page 77: ' _More light and light; more dark and dark our woes!_ '" Tsunade read out to him, and Naruto gave a salute in response before going backstage and opening his script. "And don't forget your wig! It's back there on the wig stand!" She shouted to him, and he quickly - yet reluctantly - put the wig on. He watched the scene play out in front of him, which started with just Sasuke and Sakura. She was begging him to stay, he realised after a few minutes of listening to her repeating her first sentence multiple times. Sasuke was directly facing him, and he decided to take this moment to watch Sasuke's acting; he'd never really watched before - at the auditions he hadn't been paying attention due to the ringing in his ears; all he'd needed to know at the time was that he was good, and he had been playing a game on his phone earlier so hadn't been paying attention then, either.

"I have more care to stay than will to go. Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so. How is't, my soul? let's talk; it is not day." Sasuke said, with a surprising amount of passion and tenderness. Naruto watched, as transfixed as he knew Sakura probably was, too. " _Well, I bet it's not hard for her to act opposite_ that _!_ " He thought to himself, watching Sasuke in semi-reluctant admiration. A part of his brain was protesting at that, the part of his brain that still hadn't got the memo that he thought Sasuke was okay now... Almost.

"Naruto!" Someone shouted him, once again breaking him out of his reverie. This time, though, it wasn't Sakura - but someone much scarier.

"Y-Yes?" He asked, poking his head through the opening on to the stage.

"Your cue!"

"Oh, sorry!" He shouted back disappearing behind the wall again. Tsunade sighed.

"Sasuke, do the line again for him, please." Tsunade said, exasperated. Sasuke nodded, and turned to look directly at Naruto with a smirk.

"More light and light; more dark and dark our woes!" Sasuke said, slipping easily back in to character, yet still directing his line at Naruto - who almost faltered again at the intensity of his delivery.

"Madam!" Naruto shouted from offstage, before running on and acting quite flustered.

"Nurse?" Sakura - Juliet - said.

The scene continued, and mostly in the way that Naruto had expected. That scary man - named Danzo, he soon found out - was just as scary acting as Lord Capulet as he looked. Naruto was on stage during his part in the scene, and he instinctively felt like he needed to protect Sakura and Shizune from the guy! Luckily for him, he was able to follow through with his instincts when Tsunade said the Nurse would probably try to comfort Juliet, when her father started threatening to hit her.

* * *

"Whew, that was intense!" Naruto exclaimed, as he got back in to Sasuke's car after rehearsals. "And that Danzo guy? Yeah, I don't like him at all. Nobody invite him to the last show after party, please!"

"What, there's someone that you don't like?" Sasuke asked sarcastically, as he looked over his shoulder while reversing out of the tiny theatre car park.

"I might be the nicest guy you've ever met, Sasuke, but I actually do have the ability to dislike someone... Hey, you should know that by now from first hand experience!" He said, laughing.

"Yeah, whatever..." He said, facing forward again as he drove away. Naruto hummed to himself, feeling quite comfortable and content in Sasuke's car.

"Mmm... Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we should go and get ramen before rehearsals this Wednesday."

"Why is it all about ramen with you?"

"Have you even tasted the stuff?!"

"... No."

"It's settled then!" Naruto said with a grin, and Sasuke just shook his head in response - but he didn't decline. "You've got my number now, right? Just text me your answer, if you really don't want to say it out loud." He teased, and smiled wider when he could see the smallest hint of colour appear on Sasuke's cheeks. It gave him a little thrill, every time he was able to get a reaction out of the usually stoic man. All too soon, much to his dismay, he was back home.

"Ah, see you next time then, Sasuke." He said, getting out the car and tapping his phone. "We'll be waiting!" He said, and Sasuke just waved before driving off without another word. Naruto's smile lingered, as he watched Sasuke turn the corner. When he was gone, he slipped his phone back in to his pocket, waving and greeting his neighbour Iruka as he went back inside. He went to his room, and put his phone down on his bedside table while he got ready for bed. About 45 minutes later, Naruto was lying in his bed in darkness except for the light from his phone, when it buzzed in his hands as a text came through. Naruto opened the message from Sasuke, and grinned.

'yes.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *blocking - rehearsing a scene with what you'll physically be doing, where you'll be standing or moving to during the scene, etc.
> 
> Alright! We're starting to touch on the past life stuff, this chapter. It's not going to be a major feature of this fic, but it's there in the background and might come to the surface every now and then... I hadn't really decided until half way through writing this chapter, that this Konoha is the 'future' version of the Konoha we know - sort of! It's kind of merged with our modern world (minus the pandemic!), and I've placed the original Naruto era that we know about 400 years earlier. But I said sort of; because fairly modern technologies have been referenced/used in both Naruto and Boruto (but for the sake of this story, I'm not going to be referring to anything Boruto-related, just so you know!). So the timelines are a bit messed up, and it's up to you - fabulous reader - to decide if you want to believe in ninjas with superpowers in this AU, or if you want to see it as just a myth/legend like the characters do; perhaps keep reading more of this story to find out more and make your final decision! :) also I understand that, even if reincarnation/past lives are real, the chances of ALL the characters being back together in the same timeline and the same ages and the same names seems impossible - but I can only ask you to suspend disbelief; this is fiction, afterall! And lastly, I found this on the internet about reincarnation; 
> 
> "There are two terms used by reincarnation research to describe this type of reincarnation; they are group reincarnation and group karma. It's widely believed that the same group of people reincarnate together either as blood relatives or marry into the family to rejoin it."
> 
> so...! It's possible. Let me know what you think, I'm starting to write more characters now that I've never written before, so I will really appreciate any feedback if you think any of them are out of character, etc.
> 
> youtube: watch?v=FySQq4eLun4 - here's a performance of Romeo and Juliet act 3 scene 5, for anyone interested to see the scene they were rehearsing (Romeo and Juliet have recently got married, and celebrate it the way most married couples do. The morning after, Romeo is reluctant to leave, but does when the Nurse tells them Lady Capulet is on her way. Romeo leaves and Lady Capulet enters to tell Juliet of her arranged engagement to Paris, Juliet tries to refuse and then Lord Capulet arrives, hears the news, and gets really angry; threatening to slap her and wishing her dead if he doesn't follow their wishes. Juliet pleads with her mum but is unsuccessful, and then it's just Juliet and the nurse left in the scene; Juliet pleads with the Nurse who is always on her side and up until that point supported her relationship with Romeo, but the Nurse also tries to tell her that Paris would be a much better match for her. Juliet feels betrayed, and this is where their tragic love story starts to unravel)
> 
> PS what do you think of Kakashi? I think he knows something... But what? ;)  
> PPS Sorry for the Tsunade-bashing again, I swear I didn't intend for so much of it, but I've accidentally projected my own feelings about certain directors I've known, oops... Naruto's birthday in the next chapter! :D


	4. Get Outta My Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday! This chapter turned out a little bit longer than I thought it would - but here you go! Time for Naruto's birthday - 21! That's an important age - ps the legal drinking age for wherever he lives in this story is 20, because I just realised he goes out drinking before he's 21 lol. Legal drinking age where I am is 18, but I didn't want to give this place a specific setting - I want you to decide where it is so it can feel familiar to you! And lastly - I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"I need you in bay 15 right now." The man spoke into his headset with barely constrained irritability, as he impatiently shrugged on his high visibility vest, scanned his security card, and pushed open the door to his warehouse, breezing in and stomping his way down the walkway to bay 15. His feet and aching calves clumsily fought with the heavy safety boots to maintain his fast, intimidating pace. It worked, he noted, as his employees moved out of his way quickly, avoiding eye contact as they passed.

"I don't care if you're in the middle of off loading, Naruto! This is of greater urgency and I need you in bay 15, no questions." He grinned, still pissed off but intoxicated by the feeling he always felt when ordering people around. "Gaara will cover you." And with that, he pressed a button on the side of the headset, and ran a hand through his slicked back hair that he always told everyone was silver, refusing to acknowledge that his demanding job as warehouse supervisor was turning it grey long before it should be. ' _Just another glorious day at Red Cloud's logistics division..._ ' He thought to himself, praying to a higher power that things could still turn around today, and not be another repeat of yesterday's chaos.

' _The management in this place sucks._ ' Hidan thought to himself, quietly praising himself as the best Assistant Manager this place had ever seen - he'd have been out of this job a long time ago if it wasn't for the high pay and company perks. That, and he was shit-scared of the CEO - not that he'd ever admit that - even though they rarely ever saw him (that only served to make him even more intimidating). He wouldn't be surprised if he was also part of some cult, or a gang leader. There were certainly rumours, and he wasn't going to risk having his relatives killed.

He smirked as he saw his favourite employee, Yugito, approaching him; oh yes, it wasn't just the employee benefits that he stayed for. He was reminded of this when he passed her, and she winked at him. He'd stay just for that sweet ass, and as she walked away he paused for just a moment to watch it with longing, biting his bottom lip and cursing the busy warehouse; he'd probably have given it a good smack had they been alone.

Hidan shook his head with a sigh, and kept on walking; since when had he fallen in to the trap of an on-again-off-again office fling?

* * *

Naruto jogged up to bay 15, just as Hidan arrived. He looked around, trying to find any clues as to what was so urgent that he had to leave the other loading bay when he and his team - the self-titled Jinchuuriki team (because they felt like they literally were the 'power of human sacrifice' for Red Cloud Inc) - were barely on target to get the lorry loaded and sent off on time. Lucky for him, Gaara - who always took over his shift at lunch time - had arrived early. ' _Unlucky for Gaara, though..._ ' Naruto had thought.

"No running in the warehouse." Hidan reprimanded when he was within earshot, then continued before Naruto had the chance to answer back. "See those machines over there?" Hidan gestured to the row of machines lined up against the wall, in a neat row and all plugged in to the large power supplies on the wall - four machines to each one.

"The floor cleaning scrubbers that go out to the grocery stores?" Naruto asked, wondering what he had to do with them. He'd hardly ever been to this side of the warehouse before, and hadn't really noticed them until now. He knew they were there, though, because the stores they stocked often sent them here for repairs; an extra way for Red Cloud to make more money.

"They're all clogged up." Hidan said with a smirk, satisfied in the knowledge that they had charged the stores for maintenance when it was actually a lot simpler - and cheaper - to fix them. "I want them all cleaned out before you leave."

"But, I'm supposed to finish in forty five minutes, and there's at least 10 of them! Shouldn't a cleaner have been hired for this?"

"Better hurry up, then." He said, ignoring Naruto's question and patting him on the shoulder with fake encouragement, before walking off and talking loudly into his headset once more. "What now, Kakuzu?!" Naruto heard him say, before he disappeared around the corner and his voice was drowned out by the constant noise of the warehouse.

"Shit..." Naruto cursed quietly to himself, before heading over to the machines and rolling up his sleeves as he went. He lifted the lid on the first machine, and his face fell at the sight; the inside of the water basin was coated in a thick layer of grime - he realised with a groan that there was no way was he going to be able to clean them all in 45 minutes or less. ' _So much for my afternoon nap..._ ' he thought, resigning himself to the fact that he'd just have to be exhausted at rehearsals tonight.

He'd been up since 4am - like he was every morning that he was at work - and had been hard at it since 5am almost non-stop; Kakuzu and Hidan ran a pretty tight ship... He supposed he could cancel his meal with Sasuke, but he wasn't sure he'd get him to agree to that again any time soon, and Naruto genuinely did want to get to know him a bit more.

"Well... Here we go..." He said with a grimace, after grabbing gloves and cleaning supplies, plunging his hands inside and getting to work.

Quite a while later, Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall as he clocked out, scanning his employee card at the exit as he left. Twelve thirty; that was thirty minutes overtime that he probably wouldn't get paid for... Again. It wasn't as late as he thought it would be, though, and he wondered if he'd still have some time to sleep if he pedaled home faster than usual. He didn't mind riding the bike (that he had borrowed from his neighbour Iruka) to and from work - he actually quite enjoyed it. However, at times like this he _really_ wished he had his Beepster back... Or family... or a partner to pick him up... Naruto sighed wistfully, and quickly set off to distract himself.

* * *

This ramen place was not really Sasuke's idea of fun; the loud clattering in the kitchen that was a bit too close for comfort, the constant and annoying bubbling from the pot of noodles, and the loud noises of the city at his back - in fact, this is exactly the kind of place he would never go to, at least not without a certain amount of bribery. He supposed this was the kind of place Naruto loved, though. He wondered why he had said yes, but couldn't come up with an answer and definitely didn't want to torture himself with trying to find one. He instead looked over at Naruto, who was slurping up his favourite ramen dish and humming with delight. Sasuke tried not to look too put off, focusing on his own meal instead.

"Mmm..." Naruto didn't look up, but looked ready to say something. Sasuke glanced at him out the corner of his eye, trying to fight the rising heat at his cheeks. "So good..." It was no good; Sasuke had to turn away and quickly stuff his own mouth full of noodles as a distraction. "It's my birthday on Saturday, y'know?" Naruto finally said, taking a break from eating to talk.

"Yeah, I heard Sakura and Hinata talking about it." He said, holding his tongue so he didn't let slip what gifts the two girls had bought him. He had a feeling that Naruto probably loved surprises, and wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he ruined one of them.

"Mhmm, twenty one..." He said, trailing off. "Where does time go, Sasuke? One minute I'm a teenager, and then the next... I've been a whole entire adult for a whole entire year!" He exclaimed, stuffing his face once more.

"Feel like I've been a whole entire adult my whole entire life." Sasuke said, nodding slowly. "But I'm not surprised you've not caught up yet."

"Meh, nothing wrong with staying true to your inner child - I don't want to let him go, he's too much fun..." He trailed off, and they continued to eat in silence together for a few, comfortable moments. "He's wondering what gift he'll get from his rich friend." He eventually said between bites, grinning up at Sasuke with noodles hanging out of his mouth. Sasuke frowned at the sight, feeling a mixture of disgust and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"He's not getting you anything. Sorry."

"Aww maaaannn." Naruto whined, and pouted. Sasuke sighed.

"He's bought you this ramen." He said, sounding resigned.

"He has?! Fuck yeah! One more round for me then, Teuchi! It's on Sasuke! And make it extra special; it's my birthday ramen!" He said, grinning at Sasuke. "Thanks! My inner child loves it. Best present he's got in a long time." He said, before turning and gasping happily like a child on Christmas morning, as his second helping quickly arrived - as though Teuchi had already expected Naruto to ask for more... Sasuke frowned, feeling like he'd been set up.

"You sneaky little sh-"

"So Sasuke!" Naruto cut him off, pretending not to have heard anything. "When are you gonna ask Sakura out?" He asked, not even trying to be subtle in his attempts to weed out the competition.

"I'm not." Was his short, slightly irritated answer.

"Why not? She's beautiful, funny, smart, strong, talented, clever, smart, and beautiful! If you don't hurry up and make a move, I might just have to..." He said, sliding a bit closer and looking at him expectantly. As if waiting for his cue.

"I'm gay."

"She's also strong, and- oh, wait, what? Ah... Ohhh..." Naruto said, realisation creeping over his face. "Okay, that's cool!" Naruto grinned mischievously.

"You're not outing me to Sakura just so you can have less competition, idiot." Sasuke said, and Naruto sputtered defensively.

"T-That's not what I was thinking!" He said quickly, between mouthfuls.

"Sure, whatever." He said, and more silence passed between them, a little less comfortable this time.

"I'm bisexual..." Naruto mumbled in to his next mouthful.

"Hm? I didn't hear that."

"I said I'm bisexual." Naruto almost hissed, blushing and trying to say it loudly enough for Sasuke to hear, but quiet enough so that Teuchi and the woman sat two seats away from them couldn't.

"Hmm, okay..." Sasuke said, carefully setting down his chopsticks, and slowly twisted his body towards Naruto. "Just so you know, though, I didn't tell you so we could have some kind of heart-to-heart over it or anything, so I hope that's not what you're expecting." He said, in what he hoped was his best soft and comforting voice, trying not to sound too cold - he just didn't feel like having that kind of conversation right now.

"Of course not! Just... You must have felt like you could share something like that with me, so I wanted to share that with you, too..." He trailed off again, scratching his cheek nervously and taking another bite. "Nobody at the theatre knows... Actually, nobody else but you knows now, so..." Naruto sighed and smiled, despite his suddenly nervous demeanour. "Heh, it kinda felt good to actually say that out loud..."

"I understand." Sasuke gave a small, hopefully reassuring smile - feeling exactly the same way; his own family didn't and likely would never know, if Sasuke had anything to do with it. It's not like he planned to ever romantically involve himself with anyone - man or woman - so it was irrelevant. And so nobody else knew, until now. He didn't understand what had made him tell Naruto, though, but at least he didn't regret doing so; a fact he didn't quite know how to put in to words. Instead, he went with; "I'm not going to tell anyone, so you don't have to worry about that. It's your business, not mine." Sasuke said, Naruto nodded, and they finished the rest of their ramen in comfortable silence once more - despite Naruto looking like he had more he wanted to say.

* * *

"Aah... I can't believe we've almost completed a month's worth of rehearsals already." Naruto loudly mused, picking up his bag from one of the chairs on the front row and throwing his script inside, before shouldering the scruffy backpack.

"Don't forget everyone - especially those of you who won't be here this saturday - it's scripts down from Monday so I want you all to know at _least_ 75% of all your lines, by then!" Tsunade loudly addressed the group, met only with half-hearted murmurs. Naruto snickered when he heard her muttering under her breath to Shizune, something about needing a stiff drink.

"Oh, Sasuke, you smell a bit like ramen..." Sakura said, a few rows behind Naruto and - he could see when he turned around - uncomfortably close to Sasuke.

"Yeah." Sasuke shrugged, walking away from Sakura down the row of chairs, rolling his script up and placing it inside the deep pocket of his dark blue winter coat. Sakura seemed not to know what to say to that, so she just settled with following him instead. Naruto felt a bit uncomfortable watching the awkward exchange, now that he knew what he knew. Part of him wanted to tell her, to save his friend from any future awkwardness or embarrassment; yet he knew he couldn't just go telling anyone Sasuke's private information. He groaned, not completely happy with the rock and the hard place he somehow found himself trapped between, and followed after them both.

"See ye, see ye." Naruto joked when they were outside, laughing at his own terrible Old English pun, as he waved to Sakura out of the window of Sasuke's Honda. She waved back, a look of longing on her face as she watched as Naruto was driven away, sitting in Sasuke's passenger seat.

"That was a terrible joke." She heard Sasuke say through the still open window, followed by more of Naruto's laughter as the car drove away and out of sight. She kicked at a loose stone in the car park, and had started to walk away when she heard the theatre's back door open and close again with a bang.

"Still here, billboard?" Ino asked, not expecting much of an answer.

"Dad's not here yet, said he had to stay behind at work a bit longer, but he'll be here soon."

"Kay, I'll wait with you." Ino said, smacking her lips on the lollipop she was eating. "So, did Sasuke really smell like ramen?" She asked, that sparkle appearing in her eyes whenever there was a tiny glimpse of potential gossip.

"Yeah, it was so weird..." Sakura said, smirking at her friend and rival. "Why are you asking? You wish you had got close enough to smell it, too?" She teased, yanking Ino's sweet treat out of her mouth and sticking it between her own lips.

"Obviously it was some fluke that you even managed to!" Ino retorted, snatching the lolly back.

"You're just jealous." Sakura teased, sticking her tongue out. "That I get to marry Sasuke every night we run this show, your character never speaks, and tonight I got close enough to Sasuke to smell ramen on him."

"Anyway!" Ino began her declaration, trying to ignore Sakura's teasing. "He's clearly hanging out with Naruto more than we thought, I mean, why else would Sasuke stink of ramen? - I bet they're probably friends, now." She deduced, not looking entirely convinced at her own words. "Maybe neither of us have a shot." She said quietly, a bit more serious now.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno about Naruto, but have you never thought that maybe Sasuke might be... Gay?"

"Gay?" Sakura repeated, frowning. Ino just nodded. "Nah, I don't think so... He just isn't really interested in anyone, right?" Sakura reluctantly admitted - for all her efforts to appear blind to reality, she wasn't stupid; deep down, she knew he would never return her advances, but she saw no harm in trying anyway.

"Maybe you're right." Ino shrugged, and Sakura's frown only deepened. Ino was always more realistic and straight forward than she was; but Sakura had always preferred to believe in an idealistic view of the world.

" _Maybe I ought to change that._ " Sakura thought to herself, not wanting to voice her thoughts in front of Ino - she didn't want to let her think she was right, and Sakura wrong. Soon enough, thankfully, her father's car pulled up.

"See you Saturday then, Ino - and don't forget Naruto's gift!" She reminded, closing the door and rolling down the window, just as Naruto had done earlier.

"Of course not!" Ino shouted back at her with a wave, before walking in the direction of the bus stop and making her own way home.

* * *

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted happily over the loud music, hugging his reluctant friend and workmate. "I didn't think you'd come, wasn't sure this was your scene." He grinned, gesturing vaguely behind him at the busy and loud bar they were at. Gaara looked around, and inwardly shuddered when he saw the karaoke machine being set up in the corner.

"It's not." He said, handing Naruto a small package. "I know you said not to bring gifts here, but it's small enough to fit in your pocket so... Happy birthday, Naruto." He gave his friend a small smile, and held out his hand. Sat on his pale palm was a small, flat, square box - neatly wrapped in red and white wrapping with a small bow on the top. Naruto refrained from commenting on how it looked like a Christmas gift.

"Thanks, Gaara!" He said with a grin, taking it gracelessly and placing it in the zippered pocket on the inside of his jacket - zipping it up afterwards for safe keeping.

Naruto then grabbed Gaara's wrist, and pulled him over to where the rest of the group sat. This was Naruto's work birthday party, and the whole Jinchuuriki team had been invited. It had been Bee who'd set the whole thing up and rang up The Waterfall bar - just a short taxi ride away from Naruto's house, thankfully - ahead of time, to make sure there was a table big enough for all nine of them that evening. " _Can you even reserve tables in a bar?_ " Naruto had asked earlier, when his friends had surprised him with the news after his shift - now it finally made sense to him why they had all booked that evening off... Hidan was probably furious.

"Alright, yo!" Bee spoke up, and everyone at the table instantly fell silent; he was like the queen bee of the group, they all jokingly called him. "Tomorrow is the birthday of my bro, my ho, my Naruto." He began, and a few of them laughed at his attempts to rap the little speech. Naruto just had a stupidly wide grin plastered on his face. "Twenty one, still young enough to be my son, but don't forget - and don't regret - you've got a real good life ahead of you yet!" He said, raising his glass and everyone else followed, with a chorus of 'happy birthday's. Naruto's eyes watered, and lifted his own glass in thanks.

A couple of hours - and many drinks - later, Naruto found himself up on the karaoke stage and in front of the microphone, as his friends egged him on. He grinned at them as the music started, hearing the strange opening to the song of a car ignition stalling; it reminded him of the night his car broke down, and he got his first ride home with Sasuke - a memory he'd carefully stored away with all his other fond memories.

" _Get outta my dreams! Get in to my car!"_ He sang, occasionally laughing between the words - finding himself unable to seriously sing the words 'touch my bumper' through his admittedly immature sniggering and bad dance moves. It was no surprise to the rest of them that Naruto had picked the cheesiest 80's song he could find.

Naruto was so engrossed in his performance, that he didn't notice when a group of familiar people walked in to the bar. The group went up to the bar to order their drinks and then, one by one, they slowly turned around to the singer with the strangely familiar voice on the karaoke. Naruto was in the middle of his best air guitar (despite it being a sax solo), and when he finally noticed his voice cracked in the middle of the next verse he was singing, his hands falling limp by his side. Most of his friends from the theatre were there; Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata... Sasuke wasn't with them, he wasn't surprised to notice but was somewhat curious as to why he felt disappointed; more than he probably should have been. He shrugged, and finished the song - mostly too drunk to care.

He finished the song to cheers and whooping coming from both groups, one more rowdy and drunk than the other. He apologised to his work friends as he clumsily made his way over to the other group, a drunken smile plastered on his face.

"Heeeyyy guys, what y'all doin' here?" He asked, his speech slightly slurred. He ignored Kiba and Choji's teasing at his bad singing. "Where's Sasuke?" He looked round, as if expecting to see him anyway.

"Hi Naruto." Hinata mumbled, turning towards him but not being able to make eye contact. "We asked him to come, but he didn't show up to meet us..."

"Oh right... Hey! Why'd ya not invite me?" He asked, turning back to them and jamming his thumb up to his chest. It was directed at Hinata, and he realised it must have come out too forceful because his sensitive friend quickly spun away from him, mumbling an incoherent answer. Instead, it was Sakura who spoke up.

"Your friend Gaara told us about your plans weeks ago to make sure there was no double booking - said he got my number from your phone - so we never asked. We'd actually kinda forgot this is where you would be..." She smiled apologetically and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her earring glittering in the multi-coloured disco lights. She felt a bit awkward for taking the birthday boy away from the people who wanted to celebrate with him. "We'll probably just have one drink here before we move on then, in case Sasuke does show up..." She trailed off, copying Naruto's previous actions and looking around for him hopefully. Naruto noticed there was a little less hope there than usual, though, and tinged with a little bit more sadness. He wondered why, but knew he had no chance of putting together the pieces of any kind of puzzle in his already muddled up mind.

"Alright!" Naruto grinned. "Well, y'all look great, but I'm gunna go back to the others, so... See ya tomorrow!" He waved, and went back over to his work friends.

"Your pink haired friend is cute." Roshi commented, looking over at her. "Especially in that red dress."

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed, turning round to look back at his friend; she did indeed look gorgeous, stunning, beautiful... " _Why hadn't I noticed?_ " he wondered with a frown, but he didn't have much time to indulge that thought when the door suddenly opened again, and in walked Sasuke. " _Gorgeous, stunning, beautiful..._ " he thought through his drunken haze, as he made eye contact with his black haired friend. He then let out a loud groan, as the realisation hit him with a ton of bricks. His friends looked very confused indeed, when Naruto suddenly face planted the table and mumbled something incomprehensible to himself.

* * *

Naruto's foot bounced up and down nervously, as he sat in the passenger seat of Sasuke's car. Usually, he was glad that alcohol never affected him as much as it did other people - but now, right here in this car, it was a curse. He _really_ wished he could forget what he'd learned last night; that he had somehow, through some cruel twist of fate, developed some kind of attraction to Sasuke - like so many people before him.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, not used to Naruto's unusual behaviour - he had been quiet for the whole journey, and they were already more than half way there.

"Ah, nothing nothing... Just thinking about what gifts everyone has got me!"

"Oh right, well, you won't have to wait much longer." Sasuke smiled, and Naruto felt himself melt right there, in his seat. It was though last night's realisation had opened the floodgates, and he couldn't stop himself feeling these things anymore; hadn't even known he'd been suppressing them to begin with, until now.

" _Well this sucks._ " He thought to himself, turning away from Sasuke and pressing the side of his face up against the window. The rest of the journey continued in silence.

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone shouted, as Naruto and Sasuke reached the top of the stairs to the auditorium once they got to the theatre. So this was why Sasuke had been so late to pick him up, Naruto realised - everyone must have been getting ready for... Whatever this was. Up on stage, a table had been set up where a pile of presents sat - too many there for the amount of people here tonight. Naruto was busy wondering how this had slipped under his radar, and if the whole cast (and maybe even some theatre regulars that he was friends with - judging by the size of the pile) had come by throughout the day, when Sakura came up to him and took his hand, leading him up to the table. Everyone followed after them, Sasuke following them at the back.

"On behalf of all of us here," Sakura started once everyone was up, smiling at her best friend. "I just want to say, before Tsunade whips up in to shape with an iron fist-" Everyone laughed, even Tsunade. "Naruto, we all love you so much and wouldn't know what we'd do without you here... Konoha Theatre is nothing without you, it's bright and happy heart. So, happy twenty-first birthday." She smiled, looking like she was trying not to cry. Sasuke watched curiously from the outskirts of the group, as Naruto had less success with his own watering eyes.

"Thanks everyone, this is more than I could have wished- No, hoped for. You're all amazing... You say that this place would be nothing without me, but I'd be nothing without you." He said, smiling through the tears that threatened to spill. "All of you." He added, glancing briefly at Sasuke - who was trying his best not to get caught up in the emotion of it all, too; he felt that somehow, for Naruto this was about a lot more than just a birthday and a table full of presents. He wondered if everyone else felt this too, or if it was just him who could relate to the years of loneliness that they had both undoubtedly suffered.

"Alright, enough of all this sentimental talk..." Tsunade quickly said after a few moments, wiping at her own eyes and betraying her stern voice. "Naruto, get all these packed away if you can and let's get started - the show doesn't stop for anyone!" She clapped with finality, and everyone gave Naruto a hug one by one, before settling back down in to their seats - leaving just Sasuke and Naruto on stage while they all busied themselves with finding their scenes in the script. Sasuke walked up to Naruto, who was struggling to carry as many gifts as he could.

"Here, put them back and grab the other end of the table, and we'll carry this to the back door - we can put them in the trunk later when rehearsals are done." He said, his hands already placed underneath the table. Naruto nodded and smiled, doing as he was instructed. They slowly and carefully carried the table out together, weaving awkwardly between props and various other items backstage. Sasuke was walking backwards, and cursed as he almost knocked over one of the flimsy walls at the side of the stage.

"Ah, done." Naruto said, with a satisfied sigh. He didn't move, but looked up at Sasuke with a smile. "Thanks." He said.

"Sure." Sasuke shrugged, returning the smile and looking up at him, too. They lingered in their connected eye contact for a bit longer than necessary, and Sasuke felt a strange pull at his core, urging him closer. He ignored it.

"Well..." Naruto started awkwardly, breaking eye contact. "Let's get on with rehearsals, I guess!" He said, turning around only to be stopped a couple of seconds later, by Sasuke's hand on his shoulder. He turned around, a questioning look on his face.

"Happy birthday." Sasuke said, when he realised he hadn't said it yet.

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned. Sasuke stepped forwards tentatively, and Naruto raised an eyebrow at his odd behaviour. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then finally gave Naruto a hug. Naruto was surprised, and could have sworn the lights in the room flickered just a bit. After a moment, he returned the gesture and Sasuke felt as though he was wrapped in a blanket - Naruto was unsurprisingly warm.

For the rest of rehearsals, Naruto was practically glowing, and Sasuke couldn't keep the small smile off his face - and everyone felt just a little bit uncomfortable. Naruto didn't mention the moment again, but as they loaded up Sasuke's car after rehearsals and drove home, he couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of Sasuke folded up in his arms. Even though Sasuke hadn't physically given him a gift that he could unwrap - and even though he had yet to open many gifts - he felt like he'd already received the best gift tonight. He tried not to linger on that thought for too long, as Sasuke helped him carry in the gifts bit by bit, but he found he couldn't help it.

* * *

Naruto woke up Sunday morning feeling refreshed and well rested, and when he looked at his clock he smiled - he'd managed to get the lie in he'd wanted for ages! He frowned, though, when he realised he'd been woken up by someone knocking on his front door. He hurried out of bed, shouting out of his door and down the hall to whoever was there that he wouldn't be long, then he quickly got dressed. When he finally opened the door, he was surprised to see his neighbour Iruka standing there.

"Hey Naruto, just came to give you this." He said with a kind smile, handing Naruto an envelope and a small slip of paper. "Happy belated birthday."

"Thanks Iruka!" He said, turning the slip of paper over; a voucher for 5 bowls of ramen, with circles at the bottom to cross them off as he ate. "Awesome! Thank you!" He said, grinning and placing the card and voucher on the little table beside the door.

"No problem, hope you had a good day yesterday... Say," He began, looking behind him towards the street. "When did you get Beepster fixed? I thought you had sold her for scrap because you couldn't afford the repairs..."

"Huh?" Naruto looked confused, wondering what the hell Iruka was talking about. "You been smoking something?" He asked, peering around him to look anyway. His jaw dropped when he saw right there - gleaming happily in the sun and looking well polished and cleaner than he'd ever seen it before - sat his little, orange car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, shit's getting real ;) don't you think Hidan would be like that in real life? I could totally see it. As for Yugito, the girl's smart; she's after Hidan's job and she see's having a secret thing on the side with her hot boss as a bonus - don't mistake her, she's the one in control here, even if Hidan will act like he is. She initiated everything. Her relationship with him isn't a way to get up the ladder, she just gets a kick out of it haha. Also - the song Naruto was singing is called 'Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car' by Billy Ocean. It came on the radio last week and thought it was hilarious as it actually kinda fit this story x'D I recommend giving it a listen, lol.
> 
> PS; Gaara got Naruto a personalised orange guitar pick with his name and a fox engraved on it - Naruto plays in his spare time. I'll probably list all the gifts he got from everyone in the notes in the next chapter, if you want?


	5. moonlit

_Intermission_

_I look down at my phone on the table, sitting there and mocking me in it's cold, insensitive, and impersonal manner; whilst simultaneously being altogether personal. Too personal. The text from my mother was still there, on the lock screen; flashing up again as a reminder - a reminder that she was still thinking of me, that she's still out there. Another scratch to my unhealed wound._

'Your father is going to call you tomorrow at 8pm' _is what it said - nothing more, nothing less. She wasn't always like that with me, but being married to a man like Fugaku for 35 years would probably change you. She used to ring me all the time after they left for Dubai, but over time the calls got less frequent._

_It wasn't abrupt, but gradual - to me, that was probably worse than instant excommunication; at least then, I could tend to my wounds and heal. But this was slow, excruciating. They don't know I'm gay, but I've not exactly tried to be overly enthusiastic about the women they've both tried to set me up with. Maybe they suspected it - Fugaku has always been against it. He's not all together a bad man. In fact, I used to want to be just like him and in some respects - I still do. Nobody's perfect. But I also want nothing to do with him, and it seems the feeling is probably mutual. But business is business, after all._

_Another text comes through from Naruto, and I almost forget about the other one that's still displayed below it on the lock screen._ 'My car is fixed!' _He had said, with sparkles and a shocked emoji, followed by an emoji that I can only describe as 'unsure'. I let myself smile, and I can't help my mind from wondering._

_Naruto... Nobody has ever been able to break through my walls except my older brother and mother, but this guy just keeps chipping away at it regardless - keeps growing back like a weed... And I let him. I don't know for how much longer I can keep him at arm's length - I almost told him recently about my father's business proposal while we were driving to the theatre, simply because he asked me if I was okay. He's too intrusive, but backs off when it's necessary. He drives me up the wall. I touch my left index finger to my bottom lip, and open my phone to reply to his text; my mother's doesn't need a reply - I have my read receipts switched on (unlike people like Naruto, I reply as soon as I open the message) so she'll know I've seen it and that's enough._

'Thats good.' _I hit send, and sigh. I want to say more. Why can't I say more?_

'Sasuke, I'm making brownies tonight for the cast, you want some?' _Is the text that comes through almost instantly. I give him nothing, yet he gives me more in return. A weed._

'I don't really like sweet things. Make mine dark chocolate. I like 75% cocoa.'

_I decide to indulge him a little. It's true, though. I do prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate._

'Special Sasuke bitter-batch, coming up. Do you want lemon zest in there too?' _He replies, with a laughing and a winking emoji this time. I don't reply to that straight away, just smile and look up to see my own reflection looking back at me from my bedroom mirror. How can a pixelated yellow face make my own blush? Sasuke Uchiha doesn't blush._

'Why not.'

_He's like me and he likes me. I think that's why I let him in more and more, each and every time he tries. Ever since he casually mentioned to me about his upbringing in foster care... I couldn't help my mind from racing. Sure, I had heard the gossip at the theatre - community theatre is riddled with gossip and toxicity; His birth parents were bad people - they said - he's gone from foster parent to foster parent; and the gossipers seemed to fall over themselves trying to come up with reasons. "He's the children of two monsters, so of course when the foster parent's found out they dropped him... How sad" - My blood boiled just thinking about people talking about Naruto in that way. Something to gossip about. To make themselves feel better that their own lives will never be like that. Naruto is too kind, bright, and gentle to be a monster. I'm secretly glad he's found a home in Konoha Theatre, as awful as it can be._

_But when he told me, it became painfully real. It wasn't just some gossip I heard backstage. He's a real person, with very unfavourable circumstances. I'm sure he knows loneliness - I can feel it radiate from him, even through his warm smile. He knows what it's like... Knows what it's like to be me. Be us. It hurt me to be so abruptly confronted with my own reality reflected back at me, like he was my mirror. Maybe that's why I ran from him for so long... why I thought I hated him. But really, I hated myself._

_Mirrors... Huh._

* * *

Sasuke flicked the switch on the wall, turning off the shredder and feeling satisfied. Destroying evidence was quite therapeutic for him, it allowed him to operate in the shadows more often than perhaps he should do. He would be burning the pile of shredded paper later, for good measure. This was something he often did for business transactions he carried out on his father's behalf, within the Konoha division of Uchiha Enterprises. As soon as Sasuke sent a copy over of each document, his hands were washed of it as far as he was concerned.

Walking through his penthouse apartment, he passed the large windows of his living room overlooking Konoha City. It was a beautifully haunting sight; to Sasuke, something so ironically full of life, light, and activity seemed so isolating and lonely from up there. This big apartment was definitely meant for somebody else, not him. Not long after he had turned 18 and his family was preparing for the move, he had asked his parents if they could support his relocation out of the Uchiwa Quarter - but they had denied the request.

Sasuke looked away from the city lights twinkling against the night's sky, and over to the wall to his right, to his university certificate (Computer Science) mocking him from up on the wall. His brother - the only Uchiha to attend his graduation ceremony last year - had framed it for him and hung it up before he left, but now it was laughable; who was it displayed for? He never invited anyone over, and it seemed pointless for it to be on display for just himself. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to take it down.

Right next to it was a photo of him, Itachi, and their parents; the only photo he had of them and it was another display of Itachi's doing, and another one he couldn't bring himself to take down. In the photo Sasuke was a lot younger, about seven years old - his brother about thirteen. Itachi had always been very mature for his age - and so as soon as possible their parent's left on business quite frequently, usually only returning for birthdays and holidays as Uchiha Enterprises continued to rapidly expand worldwide.

Oh, of course Sasuke commended them in a business sense; they were innovators, smart, and very successful. Mikoto did her best during Sasuke's younger years, and they more than provided for the two brother's needs without spoiling them... Sasuke supposed that really, there was no other way to raise two children and an enterprise - with a 75% gross profit margin - simultaneously. Itachi often had to effectively become Sasuke's guardian, and Sasuke definitely wouldn't change that for the world.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the photograph, and went over to the breakfast counter to grab his car keys - it was six in the evening, and he didn't want to be late to pick Naruto up for rehearsals; it was his week to do the driving (they had decided to keep sharing a ride, despite Naruto's car being fixed), and Tsunade was starting to get pissed off at them always being late when it was Naruto's week to drive - especially now that they were beginning dress rehearsals and opening night was looming.

* * *

About half an hour later, Sasuke pulled up on the street outside Naruto's. He looked at the little orange car for a few moments and frowned; it had only been there four weeks and it was already as dirty as he remembered it being, before it had been fixed up. Sasuke looked away, tutting to himself. After five minutes of waiting, he beeped his horn and soon enough, Naruto came running out his entrance door down the side of the building, pulling his coat on as he ran half way down the path before going back to the door he had forgotten to lock. He gave Sasuke a sheepish smile when he finally got in to the car, and clicked on his seat belt.

"Sorry Sasuke, I'm looking after Izumo and Kotetsu's cat Misu, and it just decided to freak out and throw up all over my living room carpet!"

"Lovely." Saskue said, scrunching his nose up at the image. Now he remembered why he avoided people in his own apartment building, but he guessed it was hard for someone like Naruto to do that; especially since the building he lived in was just a simple two story house that had been split into two apartments - one on the top floor and one on the bottom. Even Sasuke would have had a hard time not getting to know them, in that situation.

"Still no luck finding out who gave Beepster a glow up." Naruto said, as they stopped at a set of traffic lights. Sasuke looked out his window at the Christmas display in a shop window opposite them; was it that time of year already? He was sure it had only just been Halloween. The lights quickly turned to green, and he put it to the back of his mind as he drove away.

"You asked everyone at work?"

"Yeah, nobody owned up to it... I wonder if it was Sakura." Naruto sighed - wishful thinking.

"Maybe." Sasuke shrugged. Sakura had seemed a lot more distant with Sasuke the past few weeks since Naruto's birthday, and he wondered if perhaps she had finally gotten over him. But he doubted Sakura would be able to spend that much money on Naruto, even if she had miraculously developed feelings for him. Sasuke frowned at the thought, and felt a sudden jolt in his chest.

The first dress rehearsal that evening was quite different from what they had been used to the past couple of months; it took them extra time to get in and out of their costumes and get used to how it affected their timing, movements, line delivery, and the overall change in tone in the scenes. Naruto and most of the others were clearly used to this process, but throughout the evening Sasuke often had to seek Naruto's help and guidance - which he found slightly degrading; he was used to giving orders backstage and making sure everyone was in their place during productions, he never thought he'd be one of the people he usually ordered around. He felt like a fish out of water.

Tsunade had decided to dress them in a modern style with a classical twist; shirts with long, wide sleeves, cropped tops paired with hooped skirts, and so on. They all had the majority of their lines memorised by now - two months in to rehearsals - so they were mostly focusing on tightening up the blocking of the scenes, their more specific cue lines (when to start changing in to their next costumes backstage, when to go from the green room to the wings, etc) - A successful theatrical production has to run like a well oiled machine, every cast and crew member must be responsible for both themselves and the whole team at the same time; it wasn't unheard of at Konoha for an actor to have to ad lib for a fellow cast member who hadn't made it to the stage in time. Suffice to say, these next few weeks were very important for ironing out those kinks, and Tsunade's stress level that evening was certainly supporting that fact.

"Ugh... I think I've got a migraine from wearing that wig all rehearsal..." Naruto practically groaned as they got back in to Sasuke's car. "Do you have any co-codamol? Paracetamol? All the pharmacies are shut now and I'm all out..."

"Um, yeah, I think I've got some at my apartment... Is it that bad?" Sasuke asked, looking over at Naruto before he started the car. He winced; Naruto was sitting with his head almost between his legs and his hands were covering his eyes, as if even the street lamps were hurting him. Naruto just grunted quietly in response, and Sasuke decided that maybe he could break his own self imposed rule this once. "We'll stop at my place on the way back then, get you sorted and then I'll take you back home."

The rest of the journey to Sasuke's apartment was unusually tense and quiet, and it took a little bit longer than usual due to having to drive a lot slower to avoid an uncomfortable ride, that would've made Naruto undoubtedly feel worse. Sasuke was also feeling very anxious; he'd never invited anyone but his family in to his apartment, and he wasn't sure what Naruto would make of it - they were worlds apart, the only things they shared being their lonely childhoods, and the theatre. What if Naruto hated the place? Or worse, what if he looked at Sasuke differently when he saw how he lived? One more groan from Naruto, however, dispelled all those thoughts from his mind; his main concern right now was to help his friend feel better.

"Almost there, just down this hall and then we're there." Sasuke reassured him, as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped out in to the obnoxiously bright hallway. Naruto looked like he was about to throw up, and Sasuke made a mental note to keep the lights in his apartment dimmed - perhaps even off all together. They walked carefully to Sasuke's door, with Sasuke holding on to Naruto's elbow to guide him as he was looking at the ground and had partially covered his eyes from the light with his hand.

Sasuke opened the door, and moved aside to let Naruto pass. Naruto sighed a little as he stepped inside, the darkness soothing his sore eyes a little. Sasuke shut the door behind them, heard the click of the automatic lock, and guided Naruto to the sofa with the lights remaining off. The apartment was still dimly lit by the sprawling city outside the large windows, casting a faint golden glow on Naruto's tanned skin. Sasuke drank in the sight of Naruto illuminated on his minimal grey plush sofa, and wondered how he could still look so bright and warm in his cold and dark apartment.

If they weren't in this situation, the sight would be nothing short of breathtaking. However, they were, and so Sasuke quickly tore his eyes away from Naruto and hurried in to the kitchen, quickly opening his medicine cabinet and finding the strongest painkillers he could find before quietly pouring Naruto a glass of water.

"Here, Naruto, take these - and help yourself to any food if you think it'll do you good. I'm going to be in my room down the hall behind you, if you need anything." He said quietly, crouching down in front of him and handing him the tablets.

"Thanks, a thick blanket would be good..." Naruto whispered, and Sasuke patted him gently on the knee, hoping it was comforting enough.

"Sure." Sasuke left and quickly came back with his plain dark blue comforter, as he didn't own any blankets. Naruto lay down and placed a cushion under his head as a makeshift pillow, and Sasuke covered him with the large sheet.

"Thanks... Smells like you." Naruto said with a small smile, making himself as comfortable as possible. Sasuke didn't answer, but the rapid beating of his heart and the light flush on his face said more than words could. Naruto couldn't see the effect he had on the other, though, as his eyes were already closed.

* * *

"Sasuke..." Came Naruto's voice about an hour later, floating in from the small opening in Sasuke's bedroom door. Sasuke saved the document he was working on and closed his MacBook, before getting up and walking across his bedroom to pull the door open.

"Feeling better?" He asked, hope unashamedly laced in to his voice. He gave a small smile in answer to Naruto's nod.

"Yeah a little, thanks." He said, shifting nervously. "So..." He turned his head to look back down the hallway. "Your apartment-"

"Yeah I know, it's way too big for just m-"

"No, that's not what I was going to say." Naruto shook his head, and hesitated as he decided what to say next. He took hold of Sasuke's hand, and pulled him back to the living room. "Just freakin' look at this, I'd never get bored..." Naruto said in awe, looking out at and gesturing with his free hand towards the city through the large windows. "I can't believe you live here. It's beautiful." He said quietly, almost whispering, then turned to look back at Sasuke. His breath hitched and caught in his throat, when he noticed how close they were. He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was still holding Sasuke's hand, and let go.

Sasuke swallowed, and looked up from their hands to look in Naruto's eyes. How had they got this close? He could feel Naruto's breath on his cheek, and he automatically looked down at his lips.

"Um..." Sasuke mumbled awkwardly, and looked back up at Naruto's eyes, flicking from one to the other. "Yeah, I suppose it is..." He whispered. There is was again, that same magnetic pull he felt in his core, the same feeling he'd felt for the last few weeks whenever anything bordering on intimate or closeness passed between them. This time, however, he wasn't sure he could keep fighting it. He was almost involuntarily being drawn closer, and it seemed the same was happening to Naruto.

Sasuke's heart was working overtime, and they were suddenly closer than close, both of them bathed in moonlight and the orange glow from the city lights. And then their lips connected, and time seemed to slow to a complete stop. Wave after wave of something addictively pleasant washed over Sasuke, making his legs feel weak, and he had to put his hands on Naruto's shoulders to steady himself.

They eventually parted and Sasuke opened his eyes, wondering when he had closed them, and Naruto hummed.

"That was nice." Naruto said with a smile, and Sasuke couldn't help the small laugh that escaped.

"Nice? Just nice?" He said.

"Phenomenal." Naruto laughed, touched by the offended expression on Sasuke's face. "Can we do that again?" He asked, and Sasuke gave him a timid nod.

"Yeah." He breathed softly, and closed the gap between them once more, all the while wondering why they hadn't done this sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *careless whisper plays in the distance*
> 
> Ohhh! So, this chapter was a bit later and shorter than usual! But I'm not used to writing from Sasuke's POV, so it was a bit of a struggle heheh... Somebody asked to see the list of what the characters got Naruto for his birthday, so here you go!
> 
> Sasuke - Two bowls of Ramen  
> Tsunade - A theatrical mask keyring and an oddly phallic blue necklace  
> Sakura - A book; 'How To Win Friends And Influence People'  
> Hinata - two tickets to see Wicked the musical  
> Ino - Popin' Cookin' ramen kit, and a bottle of Sake  
> Shikamaru - gifts are a drag. (chocolate and instant ramen)  
> Shizune - A fox bookmark  
> Kiba - something inappropriate  
> Choji - Build-a-bear frog  
> Shino - forgot Naruto's birthday and hoped he wouldn't notice. He didn't.  
> Kakashi - A special book...  
> Lee - A good wig cap, and running gear  
> Jiraiya - one free acting coaching session and a signed copy of his latest novel  
> Neji - nothing  
> Yugito and the other Jinchuriki - pitched in for a group meal and all Naruto's drinks while they were out  
> (Killer) Bee - he wrote and recorded him a song  
> Gaara - Personalised/engraved guitar pick  
> Iruka - Ichiraku Ramen voucher  
> ? - one fixed car
> 
> btw Sasuke has a degree in Computer Science, but he's still struggling to find a job even a year after graduating. Naturally he started University younger than everyone else, so he graduated sooner.


	6. Viola Ophidia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this chapter is a bit later than usual! I had major writer's block with this one - I think I wrote myself in to a corner with the last chapter, so it took me a long time to figure out where to go from there. On top of that, I had no idea how chapter 5 was received so I was having a bit of a crisis lol, but I hope you all liked it! And hope you enjoy chapter six!

Naruto wracked his brain, trying to connect the dots in his mind. This wasn't supposed to happen, he wasn't supposed to kiss Sasuke - not once, and definitely not twice. He groaned and rolled over in bed, on to his other side to face the calendar hanging on the wall now opposite him. It was the evening of November the 16th, and they only had three weeks of rehearsals left.

Two nights ago the kiss had happened, and neither of them had said a word or texted each other (as they had come to regularly do) since. The ride home that night had been mostly comfortable, but still tense. Something lay unspoken between them, and for the first time in his life Naruto didn't dare open his mouth. He had been absolutely petrified; scared that the fragility of whatever lay between them would be shattered, like glass in a broken mirror.

Naruto groaned again as he remembered that it was his turn to drive to rehearsals this week, and briefly contemplated texting Sasuke to say he was too sick to make it, but decided against it because he knew Sasuke would see right through it. Instead, he got dressed and grabbed his things - making sure to take his painkillers with him this time.

The whole drive to Sasuke's apartment building was made in silence - Naruto had been avoiding listening to the radio for the past 48 hours, since he listened to his favourite station on his phone at work, and Meant to Be seemed to annoyingly keep playing on repeat. Instead he focused, for almost the whole way there, on the car that was in front of him; a Toyota.

Soon enough, Naruto arrived outside the grand apartment building, and he got out of his little orange car (that looked ridiculously out of place amongst the dark, expensive sports cars, sedans, and SUVs) to crane his neck upward and look towards Sasuke's top floor residence, as the distinct sounds of Uchiwa Quarter surrounded him - a bit quieter than the rest of the city, and the air felt a bit cleaner, too.

He had meant what he said the other night; the place was truly beautiful, and it would be among a lot of people's - himself included - wildest dreams to live somewhere like that. However, after Naruto had got over the initial excitement of it all, he thought about the realities of actually living in a place like that alone, and realised Sasuke probably felt extremely lonely up there - all that luxury and space, and nobody to share it with. He wondered if Sasuke resented it, or just felt indifferent.

Naruto had never got round to asking him how he came to live somewhere like that, but knew it would probably be bad timing to ask right now. The man was a mystery, and one Naruto still wanted to solve - despite the awkwardness that now lingered between them. As Naruto pondered this, Sasuke exited the building via it's grand, silver entrance - the ornate revolving doors slowly spinning behind him.

"H-Hey..." Naruto said, his voice cracking slightly from underuse, as the November chill whipped around him. He pulled his orange coat tighter around his torso and cursed himself inwardly, knowing his awkwardness was crystal clear; he felt like Sasuke could see right through his facade, sometimes.

"Hi." Sasuke said simply, and Naruto could see the exact moment that Sasuke's walls went back up again. He withheld a sigh, and got back in to his car, motioning for Sasuke to follow.

"So... Only three more weeks of rehearsals..." Naruto commented, after they had set off.

"Yeah." Sasuke said, and Naruto hesitated before deciding not to say any more than that. It was clear that Sasuke didn't want to completely cut him out, after what had happened between them - what was admittedly a moment of weakness for both of them. Now that Naruto's car was on the road again, there was no reason for them to keep sharing a ride, and the fact that Sasuke showed up at the front of his building - and hadn't already left in his own car - said a lot more than words could... Still, that knowledge (that neither of them wanted to address) did nothing to ease the tension currently in the car.

It was only as they were nearing the theatre, that Naruto decided to finally say something, despite knowing that it was still bad timing.

"So... I think we should to talk..." He said slowly, cringing at the cliche line and looking around at the traffic, before turning in to the next street.

"Do you really think now is a good time?" Sasuke asked, gesturing out of the passenger window as they drove past the front of the theatre.

"I don't know, maybe not, but you know I'm right." Naruto answered, pulling in to a parking space.

"Hm..." Sasuke responded simply, not wanting to admit Naruto was right - but not wanting to disagree with him and start an unnecessary argument, either. "After rehearsals, then..."

Naruto didn't respond to that, and instead just got out of his car, locked it, and followed Sasuke inside.

* * *

"Hey, Naruto..." Sakura said slowly and cautiously, as they sat together while Kiba and Sasuke rehearsed one of the earlier scenes in the play.

"Yeah?" Naruto said, looking away from the stage.

"I... I have something important to tell you, will you meet me in the green room in about ten minutes?" She said, looking quite nervous - Naruto noted.

"Uh, yeah, sure..." He said, with an awkward, uncertain smile on his face as he turned back to watch the rest of the scene, occasionally glancing at his watch to check the time. After five minutes, Sakura got up and went down the stairs just to the side of the stage, and Naruto impatiently waited for the next five minutes to pass - growing more and more curious as the second hand ticked painfully slowly.

Naruto finally stood up on the ninth minute, the scene on stage still well under way. Neither his nor Sakura's scenes would be rehearsed for a while, so he just whispered 'bathroom break' at Tsunade as he left. She grunted noncommittally, too engrossed in the scene.

"So, Sakura, what was it you wanted to tell me?" He asked, as he walked in to the green room. Sakura had been looking intensely at her feet, eyes flicking quickly from one shoe to the other as she shifted nervously. After a few seconds of this, she smiled and gave Naruto her full attention.

"Well, the thing is, Naruto... I think... this is serious so..." She began, her nerves not going anywhere.

"It's okay Sakura, you can tell me anything!" Naruto gave her a warm, reassuring smile. Sakura smiled back softly, before continuing.

"Well, you see..." She started to explain, ready to voice some of the thoughts that had been running through her mind for weeks. "I heard something from Ino a few weeks ago - it doesn't matter what that was but... It concerned Sasuke, and it made me see him differently, and you had stopped chasing after me - so I had a lot of time to think and I... After some reflection, I'm not so sure I actually, well, loved Sasuke... after all that. And Lee asked me out after rehearsals on Saturday and... You're my best friend, right?" She asked, even though she didn't need any confirmation on that. She waited for Naruto's nod, anyway. "Lee's a really sweet guy, and I was just wondering what you think - if I should say yeah... I don't think anything's going to happen with Sasuke, and me and you - you know we've always been like brother and sister." She started to smile, and finally looked back up at Naruto, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression as he tried to process everything.

With a twinge of guilt, Naruto realised he had almost forgotten about Sakura's feelings for Sasuke, and felt guilty - on top of everything else - for kissing the person his best friend was interested in.

"Sakura... You really want my opinion on something like that? Wouldn't you be better asking Ino?"

"Maybe... But you know what she's like. Don't tell her this, but I trust your opinion a bit more than hers, honestly."

"Well... You want my honest opinion?" He asked, and Sakura nodded. "I think you should say no, honestly..." Naruto said, looking down at the ground and frowning before quickly looking back up, with a guilty look on his face. "Ah- I know that sounds harsh, but, you've just figured out how you really feel about Sasuke, right? I think it might be a good idea for you to give yourself some more time to think calmly, and be with yourself for a while... Think about how much more you might discover about how awesome you are!" He smiled, looking back up at Sakura - he had to hold back a laugh, when he realised that he had told her almost exactly what Yamato had always said to him, when he first started therapy at the Tree of Life.

"Thanks, Naruto, that makes sense." Sakura said, with a smile. "You know - you're too good for this place." She laughed. "This place is way too... well, you know..." She trailed off with another small laugh, and a wave of her hand. Yes, Naruto knew all too well about the love of gossip and drama in this place, but he was just glad the whispers that had followed him his whole life had - somehow - never made it inside these walls.

As Naruto stepped forward to close the distance between them and give Sakura a hug, everything suddenly happened at once; the door leading backstage creaked open, and Sasuke walked in with his usual blank expression, closely followed by Kiba. Simultaneously, the door to the auditorium opened as Konohamaru, Choji, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Neji came through on their way to the stage.

"Look's like we've interrupted something..." Jiraiya smirked and muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for everyone present to hear.

"N-no, nothing to interrupt here!" Naruto almost shouted as he pulled back from the friendly embrace, jumping in to his over-the-top defensive mode. Sasuke cleared his throat, and was the first one to move - silently sweeping through the room and back towards the auditorium. As he swerved gracefully past everyone, he side-eyed Naruto as he passed him. Naruto looked back, and felt a pleasant shiver run down his spine. He found himself wondering if his eyes had that effect on Sasuke, too.

Once everyone had finally cleared the room - Konohamaru and Jiraiya both giving Naruto what they thought was an encouraging pat on his shoulder - Naruto smiled awkwardly at Sakura.

"How much are we betting on how long it'll take for the rumours to start?" He said with a laugh, trying to ease the tension and awkwardness. Sakura just laughed in response, then started to leave and gestured for Naruto to follow her back to their seats, which he did.

For the duration of rehearsals (except when it was their turn to get on stage), Naruto and Sakura stayed sat next to each other, mostly ignoring all the looks they kept getting. Naruto, however, couldn't shake off the feeling of Sasuke staring, and eventually gave in to look back at his friend. The second they made eye contact, Sasuke looked away - expressionless as ever. Naruto could feel the tell tale signs of anger flaring up within him, and took some deep breaths; he didn't want them to fall back to this again, hating each other from a distance.

* * *

Later on, Naruto was nervously waiting by his car and wondering what was taking Sasuke so long, when the back door slammed open and Sakura stormed out, looking extremely pissed off.

"Sakura! Are you okay?" He asked, walking part way over to her and looking concerned. She looked back at him and he flinched - thinking that if looks could kill, he would certainly have been done for. Sakura huffed, and looked away from him before speaking.

"Sasuke's an asshole!" She declared angrily, and Naruto wondered if he was hearing things - when had this happened? Only a couple of hours ago she'd been telling him about how she was starting to get over him, and now this?

"Well, yeah, we all knew that Sakura, have you only just realised?" He laughed half-heartedly, his joke falling flat.

"Apparently!" She barked back, and Naruto winced, silently urging her to continue. After a few deep breaths, she did. "He told me to stop messing with you. The asshole actually believed something was going on down there and said, and I quote; 'the last thing Naruto needs is false hope', as if he has any right to talk about our friendship-OR what you do or don't need! I know you've been getting quite friendly with him lately, Naruto, but that was so out of line!" She crossed her arms, and huffed again for emphasis.

"Hmm... That is quite asshole-ish..." Naruto mused, nodding to himself. "I'll talk with him, I'm driving him back home. Don't worry, he just misunderstood the situation! Although, he should know better not to listen to what everyone says here..."

"Exactly." She said, before walking angrily over to her dad's car, that had just pulled up near them in the car park. "Well.. See you Wednesday..." She said, waving quickly. "And good luck with Sasuke..." She added with a grimace, as she got in to the car. As they drove away, Naruto watched as she talked to her Dad, gesturing enthusiastically as she relayed the tale to him - he assumed. A few minutes later, the back door opened again, and Naruto turned around to see Sasuke standing there.

"Finally." Naruto said, going back over to his car. They both silently got inside, and didn't say a word to each other for a few minutes. Naruto was the first to speak up, again.

"What's your problem, then, Sasuke?" He asked, trying to keep calm.

"Problem?"

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen Sakura so angry. And coming from me, that's saying something."

"I don't have a problem."

"Nah, I call bullshit, Sasuke. You know it's not your job to interfere with my personal life, right? And if you're going to do that anyway, then talk to me. Don't bring Sakura in to it."

"I was doing you a favour, I don't want her messing with you... Again." Sasuke explained, referencing a time not long after Sasuke had joined the theatre, when Sakura had tried flirting with Naruto to make Sasuke jealous. What Sasuke didn't know, was that Sakura had since apologised. Naruto began to laugh, and Sasuke frowned, feeling like he was being ridiculed.

"You're such a bastard." Naruto said, when he had stopped laughing. "What me and Sakura do is our business. We've been friends for five years - she's my best friend... Sure, I liked her, but... We had an unspoken mutual agreement, it worked for us, she was cool with it and so was I - I don't need you to fight my battles, Sasuke." He said, successfully keeping his anger at bay. "And not that it's really any of your business, but whatever you thought you saw in the green room, you didn't. So next time, maybe try fucking talking to me first, and don't be a petty asshole by threatening Sakura." Naruto's voice shook, and he stopped talking so he could focus on keeping calm. Sasuke said nothing, which Naruto was glad for.

"So..." Sasuke began, about ten minutes later. "You wanted us to talk."

"Right." Naruto said, and they both said nothing for about thirty seconds - though they both felt like it lasted a lot longer. "About the kiss..." Naruto began, and Sasuke just grunted in response. "I- I want to apologise."

"Why?"

"Well! I dunno, you definitely didn't initiate it, and I had taken some strong painkillers so I probably wasn't in my right mind, and the view... I just got swept up in the moment and you were so close and... Sure, I enjoyed it, but..."

"No, I don't mean why did you do it, that's obvious. Why did you apologise?"

"I wasn't sure if you wanted it."

"Coming from you, who just called me out for not talking to you earlier."

"We're talking about it now, aren't we?!"

"Hn." They stayed silent again for a few moments, both unsure what to say next. "I wanted it, in the moment." Sasuke finally admitted. "But I don't want to get in to all that stuff. Feelings, relationships..." He explained, feeling very uncomfortable and very exposed, but knowing Naruto probably wouldn't let it go until they'd talked about it. "So, just don't read too much in to it, okay? It happened, it was good, that's it..." Sasuke said, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"Yeah, okay, sure..." Naruto nodded, focusing on the road and trying to ignore the harsh sting of reality. He knew he should have expected this from Sasuke, and hadn't realised he'd actually been expecting the opposite. He wondered if Sakura felt like this, every time Sasuke put her down. ' _No wonder she's chosen to get over him,_ ' Naruto thought. ' _There's probably only so many time's one person can feel this, and still keep their sanity_ '.

* * *

The door opened with a jingle, and Naruto walked in to the familiar space. Once again, he was the only person in the waiting room - which made sense, because Yamato was only one person and therefore could only see one person at a time. He sat down on the plush brown sofa, but he didn't have to wait for long before Yamato poked his head through his office door, and called him in for his appointment.

"So, how have you been this month, Naruto?" He asked, and Naruto smiled.

"Good, mostly! So much has happened!" He said with a grin, and proceeded to tell his therapist everything that had happened since they last met. Yamato wasn't surprised - every time they met Naruto always had some exciting story or new development to tell him. ' _Must be nice to have an exciting life..._ ' Yamato thought to himself, sighing inwardly, as Naruto kept talking. When Naruto started to talk about Sasuke, however, his happy expression slowly slipped away, until only a small and wistful smile - that didn't quite reach his eyes - remained. "I mean, I think I actually do like him... But then he didn't talk to me after we kissed and when I finally got him to open up about it, he said he just doesn't want anything like that in his life, and I shouldn't read too much in to it, so..." Naruto shrugged, and picked at a loose thread on his sleeve.

"Okay..." Yamato nodded, as he made a note. "I'm so sorry about that, Naruto." He offered his client a reassuring smile, but refrained from saying much more about it - he didn't like to get personally involved with matters such as this, as he didn't have much experience in that department himself - plus, he wasn't a relationship coach. "Now, I know you've been doing really well with managing your anger." He continued. "But how are you doing with your low moods? Have you found better ways to cope?" He asked. This was something they had yet to figure out together, because Naruto was a very happy person the majority of the time - but when he did feel down, he struggled to find things that would at least help him to continue with daily tasks, or certain comforts he could indulge in when he needed a break from it all. He had known Naruto long enough to know that, soon, he'd probably be feeling down again, so he thought now was a good time for them to come up with some healthy habits, and ways of coping with it.

"Not really, but last week I was feeling a bit... off," Naruto began, not able to find a better word for it. Yamato nodded, and let him continue. "You know... With coming to terms with my feelings, and all that..."

"Okay... I think it might be a good idea for you to find certain things that are comforting, ways to look after yourself - you enjoy other people's company, perhaps when you notice you're starting to feel a bit more depressed, schedule a date with a friend, or invite somebody over. Let them know how you feel; you don't have to be at 100% with everyone, all the time." Yamato smiled reassuringly, knowing that Naruto sometimes put on a brave face or a mask with others.

"Okay, thanks, I'll make sure to remember that." Naruto smiled back, pulling out his phone to make a note of it when something else fell out of his pocket in the process. "Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, leaning down to pick up the piece of paper off the floor. "I'd almost forgot! Lately I've been having nightmares again, and waking up crying. I wrote one of them down, here..." Naruto said, handing over the piece of paper to Yamato. The paper crinkled loudly as his therapist unfolded it, and his heart raced faster - for some reason unknown to him, he felt like this specific dream was very personal, and he had been doubting if he should even share it or not.

"I see..." Yamato said quietly to himself after he finished reading, and folded up the paper again to hand back to Naruto. "It's clear Sasuke has gotten in to your subconscious, if you're having dreams like this about him... How many times have you had this dream?" He asked.

"I don't know an exact number, and it's not always the same, but I'm always chasing him. Probably... Ten times, maybe?" Naruto guessed with a shrug, sinking in to his chair.

"Okay... What I'm going to show you isn't for everyone, so don't take this as something you have to do. It likely won't solve anything or stop your nightmares - but it might help you understand them..." Yamato explained as he opened his desk drawer, and pulled out a card to hand to Naruto.

_Viola Ophidia_

This was written on the card in cursive over a white background, adorned with an illustration of a violet coloured snake perched along two edges of the card. "Please remember, this isn't a medical recommendation and certainly not something I want to professionally endorse, but as you keep expressing a keen interest in dream interpretation, I found this for you. I've checked them out to make sure they have good reviews." He smiled.

"Thanks." Naruto smiled back, looking down at the card that he was turning over in his hands. "And don't worry! I won't tell anyone that you recommended a new age dream specialist." He said with a grin. "But if they turn me in to a frog, I will be suing!" He laughed at his joke, and laughed even harder when he saw the horrified expression on Yamato's face. "I'm kidding!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three guesses who the new age dream interpreter is ;) we might meet them in Chapter 7...!
> 
> Ps, Naruto borderline mansplaining self-worth to Sakura?... smh c':


	7. Patience On A Monument

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto smiled at his black haired friend, who was just getting himself comfortable in Naruto's passenger seat.

"Hey." He said back, offering him a smile. The awkward atmosphere that had lingered between them two weeks ago was mostly gone, by now. However, that didn't stop Naruto feeling the increasingly familiar sharp sting, every time Sasuke smiled at him. It was like someone doused him in icy cold water, while a searing heat burned within him. It took him by surprise every time, and this time was no exception. "Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, looking concerned at Naruto's lack of response.

"Ah, yeah, I was thinking about this film - well, play - that I watched last night." Naruto grinned, setting off for Konoha Theatre.

"Oh yeah? Was it good?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto dared to glance at him; the orange streetlights lit up Sasuke's face at intervals, and he was instantly thrown back to that night in front of Sasuke's window. He quickly looked away.

"Oh yeah," He breathed, a faint smile on his face that spread in to a grin. "It was amazing! It was a professional recording made a few years ago of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, by The Royal Shakespeare Company."

"Twelfth Night?"

"Uh-huh!" Naruto nodded, and as the heavy, city traffic thrummed around them he fought to keep the grin on his face; despite his promise to Yamato, his happy mask was a hard habit to break. "Don't tell me you've never seen it?"

"I'm not exactly a fan of Shakespeare."

"... I'm sorry, did I just hear you say that? The guy who's going to be playing Romeo in one of Shakespeare's most famous plays in less than two weeks, isn't exactly a fan of Shakespeare?!"

"Well, I already told you this was a favour for Tsunade. I know you auditioned because you were passionate about it, but not everybody is, you know."

"You must owe her a lot then, to take this kind of project on... Anyway! That doesn't matter, what matters is clearly you need educating. Everyone thinks Shakespeare is just old fashioned and difficult to understand, but it's poetry, and he's an honest to God genius..."

"Wow, I never thought you'd be one of those people..." Sasuke muttered.

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean? I'm an actor, Sasuke, an actor who knows a genius playwright when he see's one... Even if I admittedly can't understand _all_ of the words, I can understand the essence of them..."

"Okay Naruto."

"Romeo and Juliet isn't the best example," he continued, ignoring Sasuke's sarcastic tone. "But Twelfth Night? Much Ado About Nothing? You have to come over one evening and watch one of them with me!" Naruto smiled, already trying to figure out which day would be best.

"Oh, I have to, do I?" Sasuke said with a smirk, teasing him.

"Absolutely!" Naruto affirmed, with a firm nod. "After the last rehearsal next Monday night? I have Tuesday off work next week, so I won't need an early night."

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, but you want to come anyway, so that's not a problem." Naruto said, confidently. Sasuke didn't respond, but smiled to himself. "I'm taking your silence as a yes." Naruto said, before he slammed on the break, almost not seeing the red light. They both violently jerked forward at the sudden motion.

"You idiot, are you trying to kill us?!" Sasuke shouted on impulse, as a large truck crossed their path; where it would have flattened them both at that speed, if Naruto hadn't stopped.

"Uhh... Oops?" He laughed nervously.

"You will be saying oops when we get out this car, and I get my revenge on you for almost giving me a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry!" He said, jumping again when the cars behind him started beeping.

"The lights on green, move you idiot." Sasuke said, with fake anger.

"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto mumbled, putting his car in gear and setting off. He tried desperately not to panic and calm his shaking hands, but doing so only made it worse.

"Do you want me to drive?" Sasuke said, after he'd managed to calm down from the situation and noticed Naruto still looked a bit shaken up, probably for longer than what was understandable.

"Umm..." He glanced over at Sasuke, and noticed his own unease that was making it difficult to drive, or concentrate. "Yeah, might be a good idea..." He admitted quietly, looking for somewhere to pull over so they could swap sides. He wondered why he had been so affected by it - he knew Sasuke had been exaggerating slightly about the severity of the situation, but something about even the slightest possibility of getting hit by that truck turned his blood cold, and he started sweating.

"Naruto, are you okay? Do you want me to tell Tsunade we'll be late? Is it a migraine again?" Sasuke asked, now sat in the driver's seat and looking concerned.

"No, I'm fine, let's keep going... I want to talk to Kakashi before the rehearsals start; he's directing the next play I'm auditioning for, so I was hoping to get some help about one of the characters..." He grinned half-heartedly, trying to change the subject. Sasuke wasn't convinced, but decided not to push it any further and did as Naruto asked.

"So, you're auditioning for a part in 'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja', too?" Sasuke asked as he drove them through the city, trying to distract Naruto with something positive. Naruto without his trademark smile was unsettling, to say the least. "Which part?" He asked, in answer to Naruto's silent nod.

"The loud, main character - the titled 'gutsy ninja'!" Naruto grinned, finally (even though it was still somewhat empty, Sasuke noted with a frown) and jammed his thumb to his chest for emphasis. "Wait... You're going for a part again?" He asked, looking like he didn't quite believe that statement.

"Yeah, I think so... I suppose I've kind of enjoyed this, so out of curiosity I read the script when the auditions were announced... And... I could really see myself playing the other main character; the gutsy ninja's rival." He said, smirking at Naruto. "Should be easy for us, right?"

"Heheh, you bet!" Naruto laughed, a genuine smile now spreading on his face, and similarly a warmth spread throughout Sasuke's entire being in response; from his chest, right down to his fingertips. Sasuke quickly looked back at the road, as he was hit with the sudden feeling that looking at Naruto's beaming smile, was like looking directly at the sun itself. The realisation was sudden, and shook him right down to his core.

* * *

Naruto shivered, as he walked in to the dimly lit room at Viola Ophidia a few days later. The silence in this place was deafening; a far cry from the comforting, bright waiting room at Tree Of Life. ' _This is almost suffocating_ ', Naruto thought to himself, as he sat on the edge of the black leather sofa gingerly, and heard it crinkle underneath his weight. Besides the sofa he sat on, and the identical one across from it, the only other piece of furniture in this room with brown-black walls was a small, dark wooden table and the lamp that sat atop it; the only source of light in the room. The bulb stood atop a long, black, ornate metal stand, and was covered by a Tiffany style purple glass shade, casting a purple glow around the room as faint specks of light were scattered across the walls, reflected off what looked to Naruto like purple crystals, hanging off the edge of the lamp shade like icicles.

In this room, every sound seemed amplified, and his ears strained to pick up something - anything - as the door to his right opened, and a tall woman with bright red hair walked through it. She smiled at him warmly; her colourful appearance and entire aura at odds with their surroundings.

"Hey. You're new, aren't you?" She asked when she noticed Naruto sitting there, and she smiled at him knowingly.

"Yeah, never been here before, it's..." He trailed off, looking around as though looking for the right word. "Different."

"All the newbies say that." She said, grinning in a way Naruto could only describe as oddly familiar, though he was sure he'd never met her before. "I'm Karin, by the way." She continued, coming over to sit opposite him. "Karin Uzumaki."

"Ah! Hi, Karin, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He grinned, visibly relaxing upon realising he already shared something with this strange woman.

"Oh no way, another Uzumaki! Not met many in this city since... Well, since quite a long time ago." She said, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second.

"And I'm the only one I know, well, until now." Naruto replied. "Do you work here?"

"Nah, been coming to see old Oro for a few years now - by the way, they're a little intimidating, but don't let that put you off... They're a genius at what they do." She said, with a glimmer of admiration in her eyes. Naruto just smiled and nodded, not entirely sure what it is this 'Oro' person actually does, other than something to do with dreams. He silently wished he'd done his research before he came here.

"Naruto-kun, is it?" A quiet, yet commanding voice broke through his thoughts, and Naruto shivered as he looked up at the older Japanese person, eyes lingering on the long hair that flowed past their shoulders.

"Yes, that's me." Naruto gave a small smile, after a few moment's hesitation.

"You can come through, when you're ready." The older person said, before turning around and practically gliding back through the door they had just come through. When Naruto didn't move, Karin gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

"A genius, Naruto. Don't forget that." She reminded him. "I gotta go, but I'm sure I'll see you again." She said, getting up from the sofa and heading towards the door. "Have fun!" She said, giving him one more familiar grin before she left. Naruto continued to watch the door for a while after it closed, before swallowing nervously and turning around to go through the door that Karin and Oro had come through, moments before.

"Take a seat, Naruto." Oro said to him, and gestured to the seat opposite them. Naruto uncomfortably did so, as he looked around the room; it was a lot like the one he'd just come from - the same, minimal, dark decor. They were both sat on dark wooden chairs, complete with purple plush seat pads and high backs. A table sat between them - also dark wood - with two glasses of water sat atop decorated round coasters - also purple. Next to them along the opposite wall was a therapy couch, unsurprisingly furnished with plush, royal purple coloured fabric and the typical curvy back rest and side. If Naruto wasn't so nervous, he'd have laughed at the scene - he felt like he was in Dracula's personal office. Upon that thought, Naruto picked up the glass nearest to him on the table, and tentatively took a sip.

"My name is Orochimaru." The other said simply, mirroring Naruto and taking a sip of their own water. "What brings you here?"

"Well, you were recommended to me by my th- someone, because I keep having bad dreams and he can't provide any answers."

"I see... Tell me about them."

"Uhh, I don't really know where to start..."

"Okay, start by telling me how often they occur, how many you've had." They said, their words seamlessly flowing together with a soft, fluid, and quiet drawl; much like a snake.

"Once or twice a month... And about ten, I think."

"Okay. What happens in them?"

"They're all quite similar, I'm in Konoha at the time when it was probably still a village, and the setting and people in them are different but I'm always chasing after someone I know; somebody I met last year - which is when the dreams started, now I think about it..." Naruto said, a look of realisation creeping on to his face.

"I see, yes, I've seen this before." Orochimaru said, mostly to them-self. "Tell me about this person. How do you feel about them. Where did you meet; this is all relevant."

"Right, okay..." Naruto said, stalling for time and trying to decide if he was ready to reveal this to a complete stranger. He looked back at Orochimaru, looked into their light brown eyes that looked almost yellow, and felt a strange sensation urging him to continue - like he had been put under a spell. "Sasuke, the person I have this dream about," he began, fidgeting in his chair and looking anywhere but at Orochimaru, who he could see leaning forwards slightly out the corner of his eye at the mention of Sasuke's name. "I met him at the theatre, where I have been involved in productions year after year for a long time. He joined last year, and the girl I liked, liked him instead, and I just didn't get along with him. So we developed some kind of rivalry."

"I see. Is this still the case?"

"No, we're actually good friends now." He explained, and Orochimaru gently raised one thin brow. "I also recently found I have some feelings for him, too... Um, physical or romantic ones, I'm not sure... Probably both."

"What did it feel like, the first time you met him?"

"Hmm..." Naruto hummed, looking down in thought as he tried to remember. Long before their rivalry, before Sasuke rejected the friendship ramen, before- "I saw him re-organising the props cupboard at the theatre..." He said, an affectionate smile sitting on his lips. "He looked up, and our eyes met... I didn't think about it much at the time, but I felt like I'd met him before, like I already knew him on some kind of level I'd never experienced before... Not with Sakura, or Kakashi, or Iruka... Yeah, that's the only way I can explain it."

"Yes." Orochimaru nodded, as though they had expected this kind of response. "How has your life changed since then, besides the dreams?"

"Ah... Well at the time, I was working backstage too, heading the props team that he had just joined. I had always wanted to be an actor, and I thought that helping backstage would have got my foot in the door - so to speak - but I just kept being rejected for parts over and over, always being seen as the props boy. I suppose it was after meeting him, that I found the strength from somewhere to speak up and quit the props team. The next audition I went to, I got the part... And another, and from then on I was seen as an actor within the theatre. But..." Naruto frowned, thinking harder about his answer. "On the contrary, a lot of bad things started happening, too. I relapsed a little with managing my anger, I fell in and out of depression more times this year than I have before, and my car broke down... I was fired from my previous job... Is any of this relevant? I thought this was about my dreams?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Oh, this is all relevant. Please, lie down on the sofa, we're going to do some energy work."

"Energy... work?" Naruto blinked, confused. Now he really wished he had researched this person, and what they do.

"Yes. You lie down, close your eyes. I will balance your chakras, heal you on a soul level, and get your energy flowing in a high vibration."

"Uh, okay..." Naruto nodded, going along with it. "But, my dreams?"

"We will discuss that afterwards." Orochimaru said, as they turned on the speakers with a press of a button - each one situated in each corner of the room. Out of them flowed some relaxing, meditation music. "Breathe deeply, relax in to the breath..." Orochimaru said, their tone changing to a more soothing, relaxing one.

Naruto lay down, closed his eyes, and did as he was told, focusing solely on the calming music and soothing voice. What followed, was one of the most surreal things Naruto had ever experienced. He heard Orochimaru move around him, yet not touching him (Naruto pictured them waving their arms over him as though they were casting a spell, and had to hold back a laugh), but then after about ten minutes of this Naruto began to feel a strange, swirling sensation on his left arm and at the top of his head. He flinched a bit at the sensation, and almost shouted out - but he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere or Orochimaru's concentration. The swirling sensation continued, now feeling it at his feet, too. ' _So it's not Orochimaru touching me, then, unless they have three hands..._ ' Naruto thought, beginning to feel like something more was going on, something he didn't understand - maybe Orochimaru really was working with him on an energetic level.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Naruto heard Orochimaru move away from him, and sit back on the chair from earlier.

"Take your time to come back around, Naruto-kun..." Orochimaru said softly, and Naruto heard the scratching sounds of pen on paper as they took some notes. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, and sat up after a few moments, feeling lightheaded - now he could see why Orochimaru told him to take his time. When he felt steady enough, he swung his legs off the sofa and walked back to his chair across from Orochimaru, who didn't look up and continued writing notes for a few more moments.

"Lot's of energetic blockages." They began, and Naruto stayed silent, allowing them to explain. "Mostly in your crown and heart chakras, but also your root chakra, too."

"Okay..." Naruto said, waiting for an explanation. "And, that means...?" He prompted, when he didn't get one.

"Well, your heart chakra is responsible for love and healing, crown; spirituality and intellect, and root; passion and energy. You should experience some changes in those areas in your life, as a result. Your energy is now flowing evenly, which makes you a perfect beacon of attraction at this present moment."

"Okay, great..." Naruto said, not really understanding it and making a mental note to research what all these terms were about. "And, the dreams?" He asked again, reminding Orochimaru why he was here.

"All relevant, Naruto." They said, finally putting the notes down. "It may not usually be my place to say this, but I feel called to ask; are you aware of the term; 'twin flame'?"

"Twin... No."

"I see. Well, a twin flame is, simply, the other half of our soul - yet much more than a soulmate; a word already so freely thrown around without much care. Your twin flame is much like yourself, perhaps experiencing similar things or upbringings, or similar likes and dislikes to you." Orochimaru looked up and met Naruto's gaze - Naruto shivered, but didn't break eye contact. "Yet, they are also your polar opposite; yin and yang, sun and moon, and so on. When you meet them, they will awaken things in you you never knew were there; good and bad. This may manifest in your life physically - such as losing a job, or your car breaking down. They will awaken you spiritually, the universe setting things in motion for you to experience such an awakening; such as a business card from your therapist bringing you right to me, who can reveal this information and help awaken you." Orochimaru stated calmly, leaning back in their chair again, and breaking eye contact to look back down at their notes.

Naruto frowned; he hadn't recalled telling Orochimaru that Yamato had been the one to recommend their services... In fact, he specifically remembered stopping himself before he said anything. Naruto wondered if this person was actually psychic, too.

"And now... Your dreams..." Orochimaru continued, and Naruto brought his attention back to the conversation. "It is also said you can incarnate multiple times with your twin, so what you are experiencing in your dreams may actually not be fictional, but real memories. If you were always chasing him, this may be something you need to work on and heal in this lifetime, together."

"R-right..." Naruto said, lost for words; it was a lot of information to process. "You think this is Sasuke, for me? My Twin?"

"I won't say yes or no, that is ultimately something you must experience. Only you can truly answer that question."

"Okay..." Naruto said, still at a loss for words. After this, they arranged another appointment in two months time, Naruto paid for the session, and they parted ways. As he made his way home, Naruto's head was swirling with more questions than he had arrived with, and he could find no answers. He had a feeling that Karin was right; Orochimaru was some kind of genius - but not the kind he had expected.

* * *

This audition was a lot different than the last one, Naruto happily noted. For starters, it was now Kakashi sat among the casting team, as he would be the director for this play; Tales of a Gutsy Ninja. And secondly - for Naruto - it was a much more positive experience. He had read and re-read the script many times, and he was convinced that he was exactly the same as the main character. It was a tale of war, and the ultimate search for peace; set with a backdrop of ninjas and jutsus supplemented with life force energy - it was an adaptation of a very old book of the same name, and based on stories of the old world; based on the life of a ninja said to have been hailed as a great hero of his time. Naruto was obsessed with it, to say the least, and couldn't wait to get up and play the gutsy ninja; even if it was just for the auditions, he would be happy.

When Naruto finished his audition, he looked at Kakashi, who met his gaze. Despite the mask covering half his face, Naruto could see a strange look there, that he couldn't quite read; like he knew something that Naruto didn't.

"Thanks, Naruto. Oh, please stay on stage, I want to see something - if that's okay with the rest of you?" Kakashi asked the others on the casting team, and they all nodded. "Sasuke," Kakashi said, turning to look over his shoulder at the man in question. "Can you turn to page two hundred and sixteen, and read through that scene with Naruto for me, starting with ' _You can't change me_ '?" He asked, and Sasuke quietly complied.

"Heh, this is a good sign." Naruto whispered to Sasuke, when he joined him on stage. His scene partner just shushed him, cleared his throat, and began the scene.

"You can't change me, no matter what you say to me now." Sasuke directed his first line, looking intensely into Naruto's eyes. Naruto shivered, and didn't find it hard to react genuinely to Sasuke's performance. "I'm going to kill every last one of them. Including you."

"Is that really the only way?"

"Yes. Your only choices are; to kill me and become their hero, or be killed by me and remain a loser."

"I don't believe that. I'm not going to be the loser, or the hero who killed you." Naruto said his line, feeling the anger and desperation naturally rising up within him, and feeling an odd sense of deja-vu. "Neither one's gonna happen! I..."

"Why are you so fixated on me?" Sasuke said, as quietly as he could while on stage, and Naruto looked up from his script again for a moment, feeling the overwhelming connection between them. It was intoxicating; that long sought after feeling that all actors chased, when you and your scene partner are in the zone, connected, as one... It not often happened, but it was always worth the wait when it did.

"It's so clear..." Naruto continued. "Just now, we learned things about each other just by trading blows. Did you feel it? Were you able to read what was inside my heart?" Naruto asked, vulnerability creeping in as he looked in to Sasuke's eyes. He felt like he had been stripped of everything, and all was in the open for Sasuke to see; and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "You saw it, didn't you?" He almost whispered his line, forgetting the casting team, forgetting to project his voice, forgetting they were on stage entirely. Sasuke didn't respond straight away, and Naruto watched the small bump in his throat bob up and down, as he swallowed hard. "If you and I fight," Naruto paused, before continuing. "We will both die. If you attack, I will have to fight you. Save your hatred until then... And when the time comes, throw it all on me... And on that day..." Naruto paused, feeling for the right time to say his next words. "I'll bear the burden of your hate, and die with you."

"I'm going to ask you again... Why are you so fixated on me?!" He asked, almost shouting this time - his voice dripping with impatience.

"Because you're my friend."

"That's great, you two, thank you." Kakashi said, his words cutting through the air like a knife. Naruto blinked, as he tried to ground himself back in reality. He looked over at Sasuke, and saw he was similarly affected. Naruto wasn't entirely sure what had just passed between them, but it was something intense and he knew he had no hope of understanding it. It was like he was living out one of his dreams. Sasuke looked back at him, and they both felt like they could read each other's thoughts: ' _What the hell just happened?_ '

* * *

"So, you play guitar?" Sasuke asked, as he followed Naruto down the hall and his gaze lingered on the acoustic guitar, propped against the wall at the end of the hall.

"I do! Want me to play you something?" He asked, already moving to pick it up.

"Sure, why not." Sasuke shrugged.

"Cool! First stop, my bedroom! Only fair, as I've seen yours already." Naruto said with a snicker, leading the way. "I prefer to play sat on my bed." He added, to ease the awkwardness created by his previous statement, that had brought back memories of that night for both of them.

Naruto's room looked exactly as he expected it to, Sasuke noticed, as he looked around and placed his backpack filled with his overnight things on Naruto's messy desk, while Naruto made himself comfortable on the edge of the bed. He didn't have much time to think about the state of the room, though, because Naruto started playing, commanding his attention.

The song started with a simple tune that sounded perfect on an acoustic guitar, and Naruto's foot tapped to the beat, sounding a little like a heartbeat; ba-dum... ba-dum...

" _We were lovers in a past life..._ " Naruto began to sing, and Sasuke was surprised that he wasn't bad... Not amazing, but not bad either - he had heard the others at the theatre laughing about Naruto's bad singing at karaoke on his birthday, but this was not what Sasuke could hear now. The song told the story of two lovers, who began as stardust and then lived through many lifetimes together; the singer seemingly recognising this in the other. Sasuke looked around for a chair, suddenly feeling the need to sit down, like his legs couldn't support him properly. He finally settled on Naruto's desk chair, and soaked up Naruto's performance - watched his fingers as they expertly and hypnotically danced over the strings. " _Time after time..._ " Naruto repeated, trailing off as the song ended. "Umm, so, what do you think? I wanted to use the pick Gaara got me for my birthday." Naruto explained, picking it up from where he left it on his bed, and showing it to Sasuke. "But this song is easier to play with just my fingers."

"It was..." Sasuke said, struggling to find the right word for what he had just experienced. "Nice." He smiled.

"You think? It's a bit of a cheesy song, especially the lyrics, when it says ' _I built the pyramids for you, babe_ '... Ugh!" Naruto said, cringing and laughing at the same time.

"Well, it's not about the lyrics or the singing, but the playing - and you played it really well." Sasuke praised.

"Thanks." Naruto smiled back, and their eye contact lingered for a beat too long. "Umm, so, you wanna watch Twelfth Night now? I've got us snacks!" Naruto said, as his wistful smile turned in to a grin. Sasuke nodded and Naruto put the guitar down on his bed, leaped up, and lead the way to his living room.

"So, Kakashi said something strange to me after the auditions the other day!" Naruto called through from the kitchen a little while later, as he prepared their movie snacks. Naruto and Sasuke had both driven to the auditions separately, as they both had separate commitments afterwards, so Naruto didn't get a chance to tell Sasuke about Kakashi's strange behaviour until now. Naruto had found it hard to concentrate at work after that intense audition, and Hidan hadn't wasted any time letting him know just how he felt about that.

"Oh yeah, what did he say?" Sasuke answered back, getting himself comfortable on Naruto's light brown sofa. He looked around the living room, and shook his head fondly at the state of it; it was clear Naruto had attempted to tidy for his guest, but it didn't seem he had done a very good job of it. Sasuke laughed quietly to himself, when he noticed one sock hanging on the corner of the TV screen.

"He said; ' _Are you finally able to understand each other?_ ', and I asked him what the hell he meant, and he just shrugged and walked away."

"He's a weird guy..." Sasuke said, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, and he's going to be directing us in the next show." Naruto said, setting their snacks down in front of them, turning the TV and DVD player on, and making himself comfortable on the spot on the sofa next to Sasuke. Their thighs brushed, and Naruto quickly jumped to readjust himself, as though he had been burned. Sasuke didn't comment on it, and Naruto hoped he hadn't noticed.

"You don't know that."

"Sure I do, those parts were practically written for us!" Naruto grinned, pulling his blanket around him as the film began to play. He wanted to extend the blanket to Sasuke too, but refrained from doing so. The play began on the screen before them, featuring what was actually the second scene as the first. Naruto had loved that choice; it made the story flow a lot better.

_"If music be the food of love, play on..."_

The second scene began, and the character Orsino learned that the woman he was pursuing - Olivia - only wanted to mourn for her dead brother for the next seven years. Sasuke frowned, and shifted in his spot on the sofa, not entirely sure why he felt uncomfortable about the subject, but feeling it strongly anyway; he put it down to the theme of 'dead brothers' being previously mentioned only minutes before in the opening scene, with Viola learning her brother may also be dead.

They remained mostly silent throughout the show, with Sasuke occasionally asking what the Welsh actress was saying; her accent was strong, and the words were confusing enough, so Naruto didn't tease him for it - if he wasn't so familiar with the story and the character himself, he wouldn't have had a clue, either.

_"My father had a daughter loved a man, as it might be perhaps, were I a woman, I should your lordship." The character Viola - disguised as a man named Cesario - said to the man she loved, who she worked for as Cesario._

_"And what's her history?" Orsino answered, scathingly._

_"A blank, my lord. She never told her love, but let concealment, like a worm i'the bud, feed on her damask cheek..."_

It was Naruto's turn to shift uncomfortably at this scene, and occasionally stole glances at the man sat next to him.

_"She pined in thought, and with a green and yellow melancholy, she sat like Patience on a monument, smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed?"_

Naruto took his eyes off Sasuke before he noticed, and kept them glued to the screen. He hoped he was the only one who felt the air thick with tension between them, and prayed that his outside didn't reveal what was happening inside.

When the play finished with a dance and a musical number, Naruto was smiling genuinely again, and looked at Sasuke as he clicked off the TV.

"What do you think? Isn't it brilliant?"

"Y-yeah, it was good." Sasuke said, stumbling on his words and clearing his throat. "Orsino and Antonio were both clearly into men." He commented, ignoring the theme that had affected him the most.

"Well, Antonio was obvious, but Orsino?"

"Yeah... you did watch the same play as me right?" Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto with confusion etched on to his face; wasn't it supposed to be Naruto who was the Shakespeare fan, who had watched this play at least twice at this point? "That scene where he gave in to temptation and kissed Cesario - who he thought was a man - alone in his bedroom after smoking something and watching Cesario sing and perform a seductive dance? How he painted a half naked man in his bedroom in the second scene? The director wouldn't have thrown in those little things just for fun; they were hints at how he saw the character."

"Hmmm... Maybe you're right..." Naruto said thoughtfully, then smirked when he remembered all the other signs, too. "Definitely not straight." He concluded. "See! There's always something new to see in Shakespeare's work, I told you he's a genius. Some people say he also had feelings for a man; that probably influenced his work in ways we're probably only just seeing now..."

"Okay, I'll admit that you're right. A genius." Sasuke smiled. Naruto looked back at him, and his breath caught in his throat. If he could just freeze this moment in time, and look at the image of Sasuke sat next to him like this forever; his face lit softly by the lamp in the corner of the room, a small piece of chocolate smeared on the corner of his lip that he wanted to kiss away; even if he could only look, but never touch... Patience on a monument, indeed. He understood those words painfully deep, and his heart ached - like Patience, the stone monument of a woman atop a gravestone, faced only with grief - so sat he watching Sasuke in front of him; close, but not close enough... It was a bitter sweet sensation - this painful mix of love and grief - and Naruto didn't know if he should laugh, or cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...! Here you have the longest chapter yet. I really enjoyed writing this one - especially the scene with Orochimaru and Karin (she's significant to the story, that's all I'm saying c; )
> 
> If you're not familiar with Much Ado About Nothing and/or Twelfth Night - they both have quite similar themes; unrequited love, comedy on the back of/on the verge of tragedy, mistaken identities, trickery and deceit, and (in much ado) an enemies-to-lovers scenario. If you've seen She's The Man with Amanda Bynes, that's a modern retelling of Twelfth Night, lol. If you're interested, for Twelfth Night I'd recommend watching the 90s version of that with Helena Bonham Carter in it, or the 2017 version by the RSC that Naruto and Sasuke watched in this chapter, starring Dinita Gohil as Viola/Cesario; they're amazing! (there's also an all male cast version I love from 2013 starring Stephen Fry, which is absolutely freakin hilarious). As for Much Ado, if you're interested, I adore the 90s version with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh but there's also a really fun, theatrical version of it set in the 1980's starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the 'enemies-to-lovers' couple (yes, really!)... I suppose I could also give you the link in a PM to watch part of the production of Much Ado that I was in as Margaret... If you're really good and say please ;)
> 
> The lamp in Orochimaru's waiting room (plus icicle/crystal-like purple glass pieces hanging off the edge of the lampshade - that they took to a glassworker to have specifically made for the lamp, heheh) :  
> 
> 
> Bonus - Orochimaru's Gucci Bag:


	8. Break A Leg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Blood, off screen violence/mild violence

"I can't believe it's technically the eighth of December already..." Naruto mumbled, looking closely at his calendar with his eyes narrowed - as if he didn't quite believe it. They had finished watching Twelfth Night about half an hour ago, and it was now one o'clock in the morning and they were in Naruto's bedroom; Sasuke was lying on his side facing Naruto, with his head at the foot of the bed, and Naruto was a short distance from him on the other side of the room - currently scrutinising his calendar and the passing of time.

"Well, it is." Sasuke answered, simply.

"Can't believe it's only two more sleeps to opening night!" Naruto said, a bit louder now, as he turned back to Sasuke with a grin and sat down on his desk chair with a loud thump. Sasuke huffed through his nose, a sound that seemed like a sort of half-laugh.

"Only you would describe it like that."

"Heheh... So, are you nervous?" He asked, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees, and placing his chin in his hands. Sasuke shifted slightly at how much closer Naruto had gotten - this bedroom was way too small.

"Not really? I don't know, I've never done this bit before..." Sasuke admitted, frowning as he realised he was the odd one out; this would be his first production where he was on stage, and his palms started to sweat at the thought. "Maybe a little bit..." He reluctantly admitted, avoiding making eye contact with Naruto.

"That's understandable, though, you're playing the lead character... And hey, even I still get nervous, if it helps." Naruto smiled softly, in a way he probably thought was reassuring. Sasuke relaxed, but still felt a bit on edge; why wasn't Naruto backing off?

"You? Really?" He asked, not quite believing that statement. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious, it never goes away-" He started to say with a nod, cutting himself off when he noticed Sasuke's slightly horrified expression. "Ah, that sounded bad! But it's not like stage fright - opening night nerves are a good thing, I promise." Naruto smiled again, giving Sasuke a look that seemed to say 'trust me'. Sasuke finally smiled back.

"Okay, just opening night nerves, then."

"Definitely! I remember the first show I was in..." Naruto smiled wistfully, his eyes glazing over slightly as he lost himself in a memory. "It was a bit like Harry Potter - three young kids with special powers who were barely qualified, going on a mission to a mysterious land... and it felt very Wild West - with highway bandits and bad guys and mobsters, the true meaning of companionship and devotion running at it's core... Heh, I was maybe twelve? I played the main character; one of the three kids. It was a school production, and it actually kick started my love for acting." He grinned, looking back at Sasuke. "It was a generic school production, most schools did it - you might have too."

"Nah," Sasuke shook his head. "I never got involved with the school productions, I just opened and closed the curtains." Sasuke said with a small laugh, remembering the time he had tripped over them when he was eight and ran off stage in tears, because he knew Itachi was watching and hadn't wanted to mess anything up. He told Naruto of this specific memory, and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Awww no, poor baby Sasuke!" Naruto almost cooed, a small laugh escaping his lips. "That actually kinda makes me feel sad..."

"But I remember it, vaguely... It does sound familiar." He admitted, ignoring Naruto's comments and turning away from him to lie on his back.

"I think it was called The Land of Waves."

"Yeah, something like that." Sasuke said, with an awkward half shrug from where he was lying. "We should get some sleep." He said, after a long, drawn out silence. Naruto agreed, and they silently got ready for bed, taking it in turns to use the bathroom and brush their teeth. Naruto put the spare sheets on the inflatable bed (that he had put out earlier) for Sasuke, who only complained a little bit about it before settling down under the covers ( _'Hm, I suppose it's kinda comfy...'_ ).

"Goodnight." Naruto smiled down at Sasuke, lying on his side and perched above him on his own bed.

"Night..." Sasuke drawled with a yawn, looked up at Naruto, and their tired eyes met.

"Goodnight..." Naruto breathed, quieter this time as his smile got smaller, his face looking a bit more serious. Sasuke swallowed, nervously. This was definitely a moment, he noted, as a cold shiver ran down his spine. It would be so easy to give in again, to lean up and kiss him. When it looked like Naruto was starting to do just that, he turn away so his back faced the bright, tanned man, and willed the heat away from his face - wished his heart would stop racing so he could sleep.

Naruto silently watched him, his arm still bent beneath him with his head resting on his palm. He sighed quietly, and watched patiently as Sasuke's breathing slowed in to a more even rhythm, indicating that he had fallen asleep. He knew Sasuke had felt it too, just moments earlier - that magnetic pull that always seemed to exist between them, especially during moments like that. He could see the recognition in Sasuke's eyes, the quiet acknowledgement of _something_... but then he'd turned away and gone to sleep, as if it was just that simple.

Naruto thought back to Orochimaru's words, and wondered if all of it really was true. In any case, what he had felt for Sakura - this with Sasuke was in a completely different league all together; he could feel the connection between him and Sasuke ran deep - past lives or not - even though they had only known each other for a short time. He hoped Sasuke felt it too, somehow. On that thought, he rolled on to his back, and gradually drifted off in to a restless sleep.

* * *

"Mornin'..." Naruto mumbled through a yawn, blinking sleepily and looking down slightly towards Sasuke, who appeared to be writing an email on his phone. Whatever it was, clearly it could wait, because upon noticing that Naruto was awake he locked the phone and placed it down on his lap.

"Finally." Sasuke said, turning to face Naruto with a smirk - earning a sleepy frown and pout from the other man. "Good morning."

"Man, I had a funny dream..." He said, already feeling it slipping away. "Kakashi was there, Sakura was there, something to do with perverted books and electricity or something..." He frowned, and Sasuke sighed - it was too early for Naruto's incoherent rambling. "Ah, can't really remember!" He said with an air of finality, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. Sasuke's eyes grew wide in shock.

"You... Put some clothes on." He said, quickly turning his face to hide the colour that was creeping on to his cheeks without permission. Naruto scratched his head for a moment, looking quite confused, until he looked down and noticed he was sat there in just his boxers.

"Heh, not a pretty sight? Sorry..." He half joked, half apologised as he hopped over the inflatable bed and crossed the short distance to his tiny closet, opening it and pulling out an orange hoodie and a pair of light blue denim jeans.

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer..." Sasuke mumbled, slowly turning his head to look over his shoulder undetected, checking to see if Naruto was dressed yet. He realised there was no need to be discreet, as Naruto was facing away from him and wasn't exactly being discreet himself.

Sasuke turned his head all the way, to see the other man properly. His eyes carefully traced the toned, strong muscles of his upper back, flexing tantalisingly beneath sun-kissed skin as Naruto slipped on his orange hoodie. Naruto then bent down to pick up his jeans, placing each foot in each leg hole and Sasuke's face burned, his eyes involuntarily drawn to the tight, unfairly perfect round glutes that were barely covered by the thin grey fabric of his boxers. He wondered if the idiot doing this on purpose - tricking him in to staring at his annoyingly perfect ass - and frowned as he quickly turned away, petrified he might be caught in such an embarrassing display of... Whatever this was. He busied himself with finishing the email that he had been writing earlier, willing the blush away from his face.

"So, whatcha wanna do today?" Naruto asked, when they were both dressed and ready for the day. Sasuke frowned, he was just about ready to take his backpack out to his car - it was now suspended half way from the floor to his shoulder - and they hadn't even discussed spending the day (or at least the morning) together. He frowned when he remembered Naruto said he wasn't at work the next day - today... He supposed he should have known by now to see underneath the underneath, where Naruto's concerned. Sasuke slowly lowered his bag back down on to the floor, and sighed in resignation. It was no use arguing, and he supposed a day spent in Naruto's company wouldn't be the _worst_ thing in the world.

"Did you have anything specific in mind?" Sasuke asked, expecting the obvious answer; yes.

"Actually, no, I wanted to see what you wanted to do..." Naruto almost mumbled, seeming uncharacteristically nervous, and Sasuke almost failed to hide his surprise - almost. He bit his lip, feeling like this was as good as Naruto asking him out on a date. How dare he put him in this position, he thought. Of course he would have to set him straight, tell him straight up it wasn't a date. But then, saying so would acknowledge the fact that it could be one, he should just-

"I dunno, Konoha Park?" Sasuke suggested in spite of himself, cursing inwardly.

"Good idea!" Naruto grinned, his nerves now completely gone as if they'd never even been there. He usually avoided going to the park, but perhaps with company things would play out differently. Maybe with Sasuke, he could feel confident enough to go to his other 'no-go zones' again.

* * *

"And so I said to Captain - uh, Yamato - I said, that's how you break wind! Haha, get it! Wind!" Naruto laughed at his own crude joke, and Sasuke smiled as well in spite of himself - it was an awful joke, but Naruto's smile was contagious. "Isn't he brilliant?" Naruto asked.

"Hm? Who?" Sasuke asked, distractedly.

"Yamato!"

"Oh, yeah?" Sasuke said, feeling a bit uncomfortable - they didn't talk about their shared therapist, it was just an unspoken agreement between them... Until now, apparently. Sasuke cleared his throat, feeling awkward and exposed again. "Yeah he's, um, great."

"Mmm, yeah..." Naruto said, sensing Sasuke's discomfort on the topic and turning the focus on to himself, instead. "I remember one of my first few sessions with him, I turned the place upside down - literally!" He said, smiling as if he was proud of it - but Sasuke could tell something was hiding beneath that smile - again.

"You what?" Sasuke asked, frowning at the bluntness of the words that passed his lips. They both stopped at a bench, and Naruto threw away his empty popsicle wrapper before they both sat down - he had bought a double popsicle earlier from the ice cream truck at the park's entrance, and had offered to share it with Sasuke; an offer that had been politely declined ("I don't like really sweet things, but thanks").

"Yeah..." Naruto grimaced, wishing he hadn't brought it up and cursing his quick, unfiltered mouth.

"What happened?"

"It was, um, my anger; Kyuubi, I call it - you know, because of that old mythical fox creature? It used to get really bad, so it helps to think about it that way. Anyway, I used to be really bad at controlling it until Yamato came along - but it was rough at first! He ... He said something that triggered a particularly painful memory-" Naruto cut himself off, wincing at the mere thought of it. "And I just lost it. I barely remember any of it, honestly, but when I came back to my senses there were papers everywhere, his cabinet had been knocked over and some of his certificates had been torn off the walls, Yamato's hair was all messed up and even his shirt was ripped, I-" Naruto paused, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, that's probably a lot to take in." Naruto apologised. "I don't think I've even told Sakura that story."

"No, that's fine." Sasuke reassured him, quietly. Inside Sasuke felt like he was glowing - knowing he knew this about Naruto, when his best friend didn't even know. He decided not to question that feeling. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What for?"

"Whatever you had to go through." Sasuke said, resisting the urge to place a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. It didn't take long for him to give in.

"Mmm... Thanks..." Naruto hummed and leaned ever so slightly in to the touch, closing his eyes and smiling genuinely for the first time since this morning. Sasuke's hand lingered a beat longer, before he slowly brought it back to his lap and they remained in a comfortable silence for a while, each looking around at the beautiful park. "My parents are dead - you probably guessed that by now... It happened when I was about three..." Naruto said quietly, and Sasuke had to lean in closer to make sure he heard what he was saying.

"Yeah, I guessed..." Sasuke almost whispered back with a slow and careful nod, not wanting to talk too loud about such a sensitive topic. It was partially true - the fact that he had guessed it: He knew from Naruto himself that he had been a foster kid, but that didn't exactly mean his parent's had passed on, just incapable of caring for him. However, he had also heard the whispers in the theatre; he was an orphan. Upon hearing that Sasuke had, until recently, assumed Naruto's parents had died when he was a teenager - not a child. So he hadn't guessed it so much as put together pieces of a puzzle.

When he'd found out (again, from theatre gossip) that Naruto was a lot younger than he initially thought when he lost his parents, Sasuke had taken it upon himself to pay for the repairs for Naruto's car; here he was with all this money and nothing to do with it, and there was Naruto, very similar to himself and yet worlds apart, down on his luck but still smiling through it all. He felt he had no choice. He still intended for Naruto to never know of his anonymous gesture, going as far as shredding and burning the receipts from the transaction.

"I don't know how it happened or really who they are, I don't even remember them..." Naruto admitted, swallowing hard and looking guilty. "But-" Naruto began, and had started to take a deep breath to continue his sentence when a group of three slightly older men appeared before them. Sasuke blinked, wondering when they had appeared and how he hadn't even noticed.

"I thought we had told you to stay out of here, demon."

"I- I..." Naruto stammered, while the three men looked around - no witnesses. The bigger of the three grabbed Naruto by the collar, and began to drag him to a quieter part of the park.

"Guess we'll have to show him again that we weren't just messing around, last time."

"Hey!" Sasuke shouted as he stood up, surprising himself with the volume and venom in his voice. He had no idea what was going on, but all he was focused on was getting Naruto - and himself - out of there.

One of them turned to face him menacingly, puffing out his chest and squaring up his shoulders - refusing to let Sasuke pass. Sasuke watched as the other two dragged Naruto away by his arms, and desperately fought against his aggressor. Sasuke, realising it was futile with his much smaller frame, stopped trying to get past him and raised his hands in defeat. The other man scoffed, and started to turn away and join the others when Sasuke took his chance, taking the other off-guard by using his momentum to forcefully spin him back around and punch him in the face.

Sasuke watched, triumphantly, as the other man cradled his face in his hands. For good measure, Sasuke jammed his knee upwards between his legs and hit him in the groin, before pulling out his phone and following the way the other two had gone with Naruto, dialing 911 as he ran. When he finally found them, he concealed himself behind a bush just out of sight and earshot. As he spoke to the operator, he watched helpless as Naruto was unevenly matched.

"Can you at least tell me why?" Naruto asked, his voice raspy due to the hand tightly holding him against a tree by his neck.

"You're the Namikaze-Uzumaki kid. We spit on your name." The taller one behind him spat out, venom laced in to his voice. "But, I don't see why we can't explain it to you, not that it or you really matter." He sneered, unable to continue. The man pinning Naruto against the tree rolled his eyes, but continued for him.

"You're the kid of two traitors." He said, eyes hardening and hand tightening around his throat. "Namikaze-" He said with a sneer, then spit on the ground. "Left us to be with his Uzumaki whore. And you're the result." In that moment, two things happened at once: At the very moment Naruto noticed a symbol on both men's jackets (a sickeningly familiar symbol of a red and white fan), Sasuke was also running towards them, accompanied by a police officer.

"Shit." they both muttered, and the police woman with her blonde hair tied up in four ponytails ran after them, calling for backup on her radio.

"Kankuro, I'm going to need you here now - West Konoha Park, heading towards the lake from the direction of the Plaza. I'm tailing two Senchi's as we speak."

Sasuke and Naruto watched her disappear, then looked at each other before nodding and running in the opposite direction - away from the others and the man Sasuke had brought to his knees. Once they finally left the park, they stopped to catch their breath. Sasuke looked over at Naruto, and winced; the beginnings of a bruise were already starting to appear on Naruto's left eye, and there was a trail of partially dried blood from his swollen nose to his chin.

"Shit, Naruto... You're a mess..." Sasuke said quietly, and Naruto's eyes widened as he pulled out his phone, opened his front camera, and inspected himself.

"Shit..." He muttered, looking closer. "What's Tsunade going to say?" He asked, looking worried.

"I'm sorry... What?" Sasuke asked, directing his glare at Naruto. "You just got beat up, and you're worried about what Tsunade will think! Are you actually that much of a fucking idiot?!" Sasuke raised his voice on the last question, drawing attention and worried glances from passers by.

"I..." Naruto started, not sure what to say. Everything had all happened so fast.

"Never mind, let's go back and get you cleaned up..." Sasuke said, trying to calm them both down. Naruto quietly nodded, suddenly feeling overwhelmed as everything started to sink in.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Naruto..." Sasuke said quietly, as they sat in Naruto's bathroom about half an hour later - Naruto sitting on the edge of the closed toilet seat, as Sasuke knelt on the cold tiled floor in front of him with a damp cloth, dabbing gently at Naruto's bloodied and bruised face. The air in the room was thick, like something was happening that neither of them could fully comprehend; the only thing that they could both grasp was the feeling that a centuries old weight was lifting from their shoulders.

"What for?" Naruto asked, softly.

"I suggested going there, I feel like it was my fault..." Sasuke reluctantly admitted. Naruto's eyes softened, and he placed his hand over Sasuke's on his cheek. The black haired man's cheeks became dusted with pink, and his eyes darted away.

"It wasn't your fault, if anything it was mine - I knew I should have stayed away from that place, but I didn't tell you... I put you in danger too..." Naruto said, sadness laced in his voice. Sasuke looked back at him, but didn't say anything - instead, his hand gently wriggled out from underneath Naruto's and continued it's previous work. Naruto smiled at him. "Thanks for coming to help."

"A-anytime, Naruto..." Sasuke answered, frowning at the nervous hesitation in his voice. He distracted himself by focusing completely on cleaning his companion's face, and Naruto hissed and winced occasionally as Sasuke brushed over the more sensitive spots.

"Can I..." Naruto started to ask after a few more minutes of silent work on Sasuke's part, but then stopped. Sasuke stopped too, and looked up at him again. He knew what he was going to ask, and Naruto knew that he knew, so didn't elaborate further.

"It'll hurt you." Sasuke explained, finding no other reason for them both to not give in to the moment.

"I don't care." Naruto said, and it was all Sasuke needed to hear to give him the green light to lean forward, and gently connect their lips. It was nothing like the first time; a lot more intentional than incidental or accidental, with the addition of the lingering metallic taste of Naruto's blood. It wasn't next to a breathtaking view, and was neither rushed nor heated under the cover of darkness, either. They both now sat next to a toilet, of all things, illuminated and exposed by the obnoxiously bright bathroom light. It was just as imperfect as it was perfect.

The light flickered. Neither of them noticed.

Their lips softly and briefly danced together, both of them aware of the fragility of the situation (and not just because of Naruto's injuries), before pulling away. Naruto hummed happily at the quiet, somewhat wet sound that floated up to his ears as their lips parted.

"Why do you keep denying this, Sasuke?"

"I... I..." Sasuke tried to speak, momentarily lost for words. He had told Naruto he didn't want to get involved with feelings, and the headache that came with them, but Naruto had clearly seen through all of that. Of course he had.

"Be honest with me." Naruto prompted, eyes becoming more serious.

"I just, I just feel like..." Sasuke sighed, and looked Naruto in his eyes, searching for the strength he needed to open up a little. "You're too good for someone like me."

"... Is that how you really feel?"

"Yeah... I-it's like you're the sun, and I'm just... Just..." Sasuke tried to explain - tried to open up - about how he felt like he was too dark, too bitter and twisted for someone as bright and happy and wonderful as Naruto. How he, in contrast, had for a long time been cast in darkness like the moon - until the sun's rays reflected off his cold surface and lit him up. He was finding it difficult to get the right words out for something so deep and profound like that - he'd never been a deep or poetic person, and he'd not been this open with someone for a long time, longer than he could even remember - it felt wrong, he felt like he was being cut open, and everything inside him was threatening to spill out at any second.

"I understand." Naruto said softly when it was clear that Sasuke was struggling to continue, and Sasuke silently thanked him. He felt as though Naruto could see all of this, anyway, without him having to say anything. "If it takes you time, that's okay." Naruto smiled, and Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow - he'd thought Naruto would want to go forward at full speed. "Whatever this is, or could be, I think it will have been worth waiting for." He said, reaching forward and placing his hand on Sasuke's cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth. Sasuke inwardly frowned at Naruto's strange use of words, but didn't question him on it, and instead finished tending to Naruto's wounds in a much more comfortable silence than before.

* * *

"Alright. Sit." Kurenai ordered, practically throwing Naruto down on to the hair and makeup chair backstage. Sasuke watched, in full Romeo costume, as Kurenai fussed over Naruto and tutted to herself about immature men. Despite her attitude, Naruto found she was surprisingly gentle on his face, softly tapping the makeup brush over the bruises she was expertly concealing, and he barely felt any pain on his still-fresh injuries from the day before.

They had about fifteen minutes before the curtains opened, and when Naruto and Sasuke had shown up thirty minutes ago with Naruto looking the way he did, Tsunade could have punched a hole in the wall. Naruto was now in his old fashioned Nurse's outfit (with a modern twist), and sat there quite comically with the wig cap that Lee bought him sat on top of his head - it was quite a picture, and Sasuke wished he hadn't left his phone down in the dressing room so he could actually take a picture of this.

"Ten minute cue for curtains." Sasuke heard the stage manager - Asuma - mutter in to his headset to the rest of the backstage crew. Sasuke was a little relieved he wasn't working as stage manager for this particular production; with such a large cast and elaborate costumes, it seemed like it would be a headache for even a skilled and paid professional. If he liked the guy, he would probably have felt bad for him.

Just as Naruto finally hopped off the hair and makeup chair (and Kurenai immediately hurried over to Asuma), the wig now securely in place and bruises suitably hidden, Tsunade entered the backstage area, followed by Sakura - who still huffed and appeared generally put off in Sasuke's presence.

"Alright, you three, I just want to give you a last minute pep talk - you've been great throughout these rehearsals, I know you'll be amazing! No pressure, but I'll be sitting on the front row - Naruto! If you don't hear me laughing, try harder." She added, with a laugh and a grin directed at her current favourite cast member. Sasuke rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. "Now then! Everyone get to where they're supposed to be, and break a leg!" She said with finality, before going off to join the audience, Sasuke guessed.

Sakura smiled at Naruto, before leaving for the green room - her first scene wouldn't be for a while - leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone.

"Well... I've got to go to the other side of the stage..." Sasuke said, but didn't make a move. He swallowed, hard.

"Don't worry Sasuke, my first scene isn't for a while yet either, I'll-" Naruto was cut off then by the sound of the curtains opening, and the first scene starting. "Come on." Naruto said, grabbing Sasuke's hand (Asuma and Kurenai too distracted by the play and each other to notice) and laughing at the absurdity of the Nurse and Romeo holding hands as he led the way to the other side of the stage - to get there, they had to go through the green room underneath the stage (where Naruto let go of his hand because everyone else was sat in there). Once they reached the stage left entrance, Sasuke noticed the other actors on stage were only about ten lines away from his cue line.

"Here..." Naruto whispered, looking around and then lacing his fingers in to Sasuke's hair at the back of his head, pulling him closer for a quick kiss. He stopped, and loosened his grip when their faces were inches from each other - he didn't want to force Sasuke to do anything, so he let Sasuke make the next move. Sasuke smiled nervously, and kissed him quickly.

"Break a leg!" Naruto grinned, poked his nose, and hurried back downstairs. Sasuke watched him leave, feeling himself fill up with a confidence that wasn't there before, then stepped out on stage to an audience for the very first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, another chapter I really enjoyed writing! So, the show finally begins (in more ways than one?!)... It's running until the 20th December! Get your fictional tickets! Haha. Thanks so much to everyone who has been commenting so far, it's really motivating me to continue - 4000 or so words every week isn't the easiest, and some chapters are a few days later than the Monday/Tuesday updates I aim for, but hearing that people like what I'm doing is enough <3 so, thanks! Another Sasuke interlude in the next chapter ;)


	9. to the moon & back

Sasuke sighed as he watched Naruto wave to him from the entrance to his ground floor apartment, down the side of the building. It wasn't a sad, or depressed, or deflated sigh, just a release of something that he had been holding in - something he couldn't quite identify, but wasn't too concerned to try to; so many things had happened in just three short days that he didn't think it worth trying to sift through it all in order to stick a pin in it. He'd been around Naruto long enough by now to realise that, for the most part, life was completely unpredictable and wholly un-pin-downable.

As Sasuke drove back to his place, he supposed he should think about the show they had just performed to an audience for the first time, or the feedback from Tsunade, or what he personally thought went well and what didn't, or even how Sakura seemed to be warming up to him again during the run of the show - minus the overbearing crush she once harbored... But instead, all he could think about was Naruto. Warm, bright, happy, giggling Naruto who had, until mere moments ago, been sat next to him in his car, chirping away as though things were completely normal. Like this was just any normal night. Sasuke was struck with the thought that, to Naruto, it probably was. But to Sasuke... Well, it definitely was not.

When he got back to his cold and empty apartment - a smile on his face and a warmth in his chest despite himself - he heard the dull clunk of the lock mechanisms when he turned the key, heard the familiar squeaking of the hinges as he pushed the heavy security door open, heard the lock click again automatically when the door had swung shut, heard the other man in the room clear his throat... Sasuke looked up in shock, hand midway to the key hook by the door.

"Hello, Sasuke."

* * *

"Fugaku."

"Yes, Mikoto?" The man answered distractedly, hunched over his ornate wooden desk and organising some papers.

"Itachi asked me to tell you something." She said, knowing that for their eldest son, there wasn't much that could keep the stern, cold man from listening intently. She almost smiled when she was proven right, and he finally looked up at her.

"Oh? And, that would be..."

"He has arranged a few days off through his area manager, and asked me to tell you directly, as it would reach you faster than the paperwork would." She explained, flicking her eyes towards the large pile of said paperwork beside him. "It should be in that pile, somewhere." She added.

"Right..." Fugaku sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "Great, another good man down. Those idiots in his office will be playing catch up for days. Why couldn't he just come to me and arrange it? I could have personally arranged someone more suitable to cover his shift myself." He said, mostly to himself, knowing that Itachi's area manager and head of human resources (and Fugaku's uncle, Madara) would once again pick his favourite - Obito - to cover Itachi's shift. Obito was good, but Fugaku suspected him of industrial espionage - a claim he unfortunately and frustratingly couldn't prove.

"He's going to Konoha for a couple of days." She said, ignoring his last comment.

"Konoha? Why?" He asked, frowning. Mikoto shrugged.

"Possibly because he wants to see his younger brother?" Mikoto said, just barely keeping the disdain for her husband out of her voice. "Plus, Sasuke is playing the lead in Romeo and Juliet this week, as you know... I suspect he's planning to watch him in that, too." She added, happy that at least one family member would be there for Sasuke.

She had tried to get the time off to go and watch, too, but her requests had been denied each time. As public relations manager, she had too many important meetings she couldn't miss, and travelling from Dubai to Konoha was a long trip and, unfortunately, within Uchiha Enterprises time was a lot of money. She had long since given up trying to convince them that some things were more important than that.

"Right, Romeo and Juliet..." Fugaku mumbled, rolling his eyes and directing his attention back to his work. "I hope it's worth it... I don't know why Sasuke bothers putting his time in to that for no pay, but, I suppose I never could get through to the boy..." He trailed off, now completely immersed in his work again. Mikoto sighed, and left her husband's office, the clicking of her black low heeled shoes echoing against the corridor walls as she walked - cool, calm, collected. She tolerated the man, but her love for him had long since left her. In her busy schedule she usually forgot about the love they no longer shared, but it was moments like the one that had just passed between them that reminded her. Now all that she wanted from him, was for him to be a good father for their kids, and that was something she would never give up on.

* * *

"Itachi? What... What are you doing here?"

"A hello would have been nice." Itachi said, smirking at his younger brother. "Aren't you happy to see me?" He asked, mock innocence plastered on his face. Sasuke nodded, dumbfounded.

"Of course I am, I..." He trailed off, not sure what to say. He didn't know why he did what he did next - maybe he really had been spending too much time with Naruto - but the next thing he knew he was buried in his brother's embrace, and inexplicably felt like he never wanted to let go.

"Woah, okay Sasuke, it's only been six months..." Itachi said, also surprised at his brother's behaviour yet returning the affectionate hug anyway. The gesture reminded him of a much younger Sasuke, and at the back of his mind he wondered what had happened in the last six months to change Sasuke like this.

"Yeah, sorry..." Sasuke mumbled, pulling away. "I'll get you something to eat, or perhaps a drink? How long have you been here? When did your flight land?" Sasuke asked, many more questions circling his mind as he walked in to his open plan kitchen and dining area, separated from the living room only by the counters.

"Kisame picked me up from the airport a little over an hour ago - I've been here at your apartment almost half an hour now... and yes, please, perhaps some scrambled eggs and a cup of tea would be nice, Sasuke. Thank you." Itachi said politely, sitting down on one of the tall chairs at the breakfast bar, facing Sasuke who was stood on the other side of it. He watched quietly, as Sasuke busied himself preparing the food and drink for him.

"So, how are you doing little brother?" Itachi asked a short while later, the both of them sitting opposite each other at Sasuke's ridiculously (for an apartment where only one person lived) large dining table.

"I'm doing fine. The show started this week, so I've been quite busy with rehearsals, and with work. That's about it..."

"Is that so?" Itachi asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Yes, well, I suppose no, there's Naruto..." Sasuke said, squirming a little in his seat and poking at his tomato slice with his fork, avoiding eye contact. Itachi could always see right through him, so he supposed there was no point in lying - he always lacked his usual conviction around the older man, though not for lack of trying.

"Naruto? Who's that?"

"Some guy from the theatre - his car broke down and demanded I drive him home one night after rehearsals, that's pretty much it." He said, giving 'playing the whole thing down' one last attempt, despite knowing it wouldn't work.

"Come on, Sasuke, I can tell something's different with you. Whoever this Naruto is, I want to thank him because whatever he's done to you, it shows." He said with a casual tone, as though he were talking about the weather. Sasuke blushed at the implication behind his brother's words. Itachi took a bite of his scrambled egg.

"He... Naruto..."

"Yes?"

"He wants to be with me. Romantically, I mean..."

"I see, and, do you? I mean, are you... You know...?" Itachi prompted, wanting it to come from Sasuke's mouth.

"Gay? Yeah... Um, yeah." Sasuke nodded slowly, ignoring the first question. It wasn't some grand coming out moment, like the videos he had seen on YouTube, but it was something quiet and simple that seemed perfect for the two of them. He knew Itachi would be okay with it and had probably suspected it, but the moment had never presented itself until now.

"Thank you for telling me." Itachi smiled, then continued. "So, is he nice?"

"Of course he is, but that doesn't matter. You know I can't do all that... Relationship stuff... I swore - we both did - seeing the way mum and dad are together, that that would never be us. I can't put myself through that... I can't put Naruto through that. He's..." Sasuke sighed. "I'm not good enough for him."

"Sasuke..." Itachi sighed. "I don't need to tell you what I think about that, you already know that's ridiculous."

"Anyway..." Sasuke looked away again, finally taking a bite of the tomato slice he had been playing with during the whole conversation. "I'm sure you didn't come all this way to talk to me about my love life. Why don't we talk about you for a change?"

"About me? Okay. I'm going to resign from Uchiha Enterprises." Sasuke almost choked on his tomato.

"You're ... what?!" He got out, after a bout of coughing.

"Resigning from Uchiha Enterprises." Itachi repeated calmly, as he took another bite of his scrambled egg.

"Why? You're... You'll be CEO one day!"

"Can't stand the place. I'd rather be back here. Plus, Kisame informed me of a good, well paid position within Red Cloud Incorporated - it's mine if I want it."

"I- What's dad going to say? Aren't Red Cloud rivaling Uchiha?" Sasuke asked, fighting the grin threatening to appear on his face. Having his brother back seemed too good to be true.

"Yes, they are - there's actually a rumour that my co-worker is feeding them information from the inside-but that's beside the point. Dad will understand... Eventually."

"I doubt it. You don't want them to suspect you're the double agent... You're not, are you?" He asked, and Itachi calmly shook his head.

"No, I think it's Obito." Itachi shrugged, ignoring Sasuke's shocked face - they'd both known the man for a long time (he was very distantly related to them, after all) and he definitely didn't seem like the type. Itachi decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I can't wait to see you play Romeo on Friday. Is Naruto your Juliet?" He asked with a wink, and this time, Sasuke did choke on his tomato.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Sasuke, please come through." Yamato stood in the doorway, and moved aside to let his next client in. "So, how are things going, are you enjoying the show?" He asked once the door was closed, and they were both sat down.

"Yes, it's a lot more fun than I thought it would be..." Sasuke said, unsure where to begin to tell his therapist all that had happened lately; between Naruto's fight, and Itachi arriving unannounced, he wasn't sure which was more important. Probably both, probably neither.

"Anything else interesting happen this month?" Yamato asked, keeping his expression neutral and meeting Sasuke where he was at - he had figured out soon enough that his two clients knew each other quite well (it wasn't as though they had kept each other a secret) - and he knew it was best not to meddle in these things; just help each of them arrive at the conclusion that was right for them. Still, he was quite delighted that he might get to inadvertently play cupid for the pair.

"Yeah, my older brother Itachi showed up unexpectedly yesterday."

"Oh? Is this the brother who you-"

"Yeah, the one I felt I had been abandoned by."

"Are you happy about this?"

"Yeah, I think so. I don't feel that way anymore - abandoned - not since I grew up and heard his side of the story."

"Can I ask, what is that story, Sasuke?"

"Just, the reasons he chose to join our parents in Dubai rather than stay here in the Konoha division of the family business... Now I'm older, it makes sense. It didn't back then... but I was only sixteen."

"I'm sure however you felt was perfectly understandable and valid, Sasuke."

"Maybe." Sasuke shifted in his seat, dangerously close to admitting that someone he looked up to might not be perfect.

"Do you know why he's here?"

"He said he's come to see me, and watch me in the show... He said he wants to move back here soon and leave the family business - he didn't tell me, but I imagine he's probably come to view properties too... In fact, he may be doing that as we speak."

"Is that good?"

"No, not really. I'm worried he might give our dad a heart attack, first one disappointment -" Sasuke gestured to himself. "And then another."

"You know your parent's better than I do, Sasuke, but I don't think you're a disappointment."

"In your eyes, maybe not." Sasuke crossed his legs and looked away, letting that particular conversation end before it had really begun, and hang awkwardly between them.

"So... This guy at the theatre you keep mentioning, how are things there?" Yamato prompted - deciding a subject change would be appropriate - bringing Sasuke's attention back to the present. "And have you been doing those CBT exercises that I've suggested?" He asked, referring to the cognitive behavioural therapy techniques they had worked on together, in order to help Sasuke handle social situations and negative thoughts better than he used to.

"Yes, I've been keeping track of my thought patterns, especially around N-the theatre guy." Sasuke explained, uncrossing his legs. "I've been able to let my walls down with him, a little..."

"That's great, Sasuke."

"Yeah..." Sasuke smiled, feeling foolish but proud, anyway. "He makes it hard not to..." He said, mostly to himself as he smiled fondly at the thought.

"That's a good thing, I'm glad you feel that way - it seems that this person is good for you."

"Maybe..." Sasuke shrugged, and then his smile fell away. 'Oh dear' Yamato thought, instantly noting the change in Sasuke and expecting what was to come next. "I'm not good for him."

"Sasuke, of course you are - you know you're a good person." Yamato gently insisted, Sasuke shook his head adamantly.

"No, I'm terrible, I'm a bad person..." Sasuke said, looking Yamato in the eyes - who fell silent at the intense gaze; completely different from the Sasuke who was avoiding eye contact just moments ago. "I would ruin him."

"Now then Sasuke, take a few deep breaths and hear what you just said - do you really, truly believe them?" He said, maintaining his composure and not breaking eye contact; he had dealt with worse, and knew how to deal with situations like these.

"I..." Sasuke started to say, but couldn't find the words to continue.

"Think back, Sasuke, when did these thoughts first occur? We need to find the source so you can begin to heal this wound." Yamato was leaning forwards slightly, but holding himself back so he didn't appear too intimidating.

"I..." He said again, looking down, his eyes occasionally darting back and forth as he tried to remember. "My father..."

~

_"Sasuke, come here."_

_"Yes, dad?"_

_"I want you to watch this - watch Itachi's backswing here." Fugaku said, gesturing with his arm towards Itachi, about twelve years old, playing golf. The young, black haired boy watched in awe, as his older brother carefully and gracefully elevated his golf club above his head, flexing his muscles and shifting his stance, lining up with the hole he was aiming for with pinpoint precision... He watched as he swung the club down towards the golf ball, his body following through with the motion and twisting masterfully, to bring the club to the other side of his head._

_"Wow..." Sasuke said, in awe._

_"Now that, Sasuke, is how a real man swings."_

_"Can I try, dad?" He asked, with all the enthusiasm of a six year old wanting to impress._

_"Of course, go ahead." He nodded, handing Sasuke the smallest golf club he had in his bag, and setting a ball for him on the golf tee that Itachi had just launched his own golf ball from. As Sasuke approached, undetected, Fugaku clasped his hand on to Itachi's shoulder to stop him walking away. "Just humour the boy." He muttered, before giving his eldest son another pat and turning to Sasuke, who he hadn't noticed had heard the exchange. "Go on then, son." He gave Sasuke a nod, and Sasuke positioned himself, feeling both pairs of eyes burning at his back. He began to sweat, and felt the overwhelming pressure from the two behind him. He pulled the club back like he had seen Itachi do, and swung it down violently, hitting the ground and sending dirt flying everywhere. The golf ball remained untouched. Sasuke quickly looked around at his dad and brother, devastated._

_"Oh well, better luck next time Sasuke." Fugaku laughed, picking up the golf ball and pocketing it, then tearing the club from Sasuke's small hands. Sasuke fought back his tears, and looked towards his brother for some reassurance. Itachi crouched down so he was level with his brother, and smiled._

_"Brother, teach me!" He demanded, puffing his cheeks out._

_"I'm sorry Sasuke, next time." Itachi said softly, a hint of guilt bleeding in to his voice as he lifted up his arm. 'A hug?' Sasuke thought happily, smiling and stepping closer to Itachi, who instead proceeded to poke him on his forehead with his middle and forefinger._

_~_

_"We're leaving you here in Itachi's care." Fugaku said, in what Sasuke had come to learn was his business voice. "He's more than capable."_

_"Okay." Sasuke nodded, holding back his tears as he looked to his mother for some kind of reassurance; something that he still hoped for despite his many disappointments. She gave him nothing but a guilty smile. He wondered if he'd done something wrong; why couldn't they take him? Was he too much of a bad kid that they could no longer raise him? What would Itachi think? Would he leave him alone too? Sasuke looked up quickly when his brother entered the room of their soon-to-be huge apartment, on the top floor of the building spanning almost the entire floor. "I don't want to stay here!" He said, in an unusual act of defiance. "It's big and scary and lonely, Itachi tell them!" He said, his voice cracking as the tears finally broke free, rolling down his cheeks thick and fast, like a river. "Please..."_

_Itachi bent down in front of him again, like so many times before, but this time Sasuke didn't dare hope for a hug. He held his breath, waiting for the inevitable tap on his forehead. When it came, it didn't stop the tears like he thought it would._

_"Sorry, Sasuke."_

~

"Sasuke... Sasuke." Yamato's calm voice broke through Sasuke's memories, and Sasuke finally looked back up. "There you are." Yamato smiled, and Sasuke frowned when he felt an odd wet feeling on his cheeks - how long had it been since he felt that? Five, maybe six years? He lifted up his hand just to make sure, and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Shit..." Sasuke sniffed, and wiped aggressively at his wet eyes. He was a grown man, he thought he was past this.

"It's okay, Sasuke. I'm here to help you. You're safe to let these things out here - and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that." Yamato said, and that was the first time Sasuke had heard anyone say that; a realisation that made his eyes prickle again with fresh tears.

* * *

"So he just showed up unannounced?" Naruto asked, as they sat in traffic down the street from Naruto's apartment. "Is he staying with you?" He asked.

"Yeah, just for a couple of days..." He said.

"You don't sound very excited."

"I'm just tired." Sasuke said truthfully, looking over at Naruto and giving him a reassuring smile, then quickly looked back at the road as the lights turned green.

"Hmm, okay..." Naruto said, not pressing it further. "So... Sasuke..." He said slowly, and Sasuke rolled his eyes; Naruto always did this whenever he wanted something he thought was unreasonable.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to stop over again? Ah, I understand now isn't the best time... I'd actually meant to ask you yesterday but forgot, and I understand you'd probably want to spend some time with your brother if he's not here for long, but... I just wanted to ask."

Sasuke thought for a moment, before replying. "...Yeah, okay. It's probably best if I keep my distance from him, for now."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah." He said, not wanting to explain the situation just yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time with Naruto. He did want to open up to him, but a little voice in his head would always tell him it was too soon. His sessions with Yamato had helped quieten the voice, but it was still there.

A while later, they were both dressed for bed, and Naruto flopped himself down on to his mattress.

"Sasuke, scooch on over here." He smiled, shuffling a bit to make some space. Sasuke blushed, looking at the small bed.

"There's not enough room..."

"Sure there is!" He grinned, and Sasuke smiled back and perched himself on the edge of the bed.

"Alright, I'm here." He smirked, teasing him.

"Sasukeeee..." Naruto whined, pouting without shame. Sasuke sighed, and lay down on his side to face Naruto. "Hi." Naruto smiled, and Sasuke smiled back at him.

"Hey." Sasuke said back and, after a few moments of comfortable silence, lifted up a finger to lightly trace the bruises still lingering on Naruto's face, now visible after the many layers of makeup had been wiped away - with Sasuke's help. Naruto flinched, but didn't tell him to stop.

"So... Did you and your brother fall out?" Naruto said quietly, no longer needing to use what Sasuke had dubbed his 'outside' voice at such close proximity.

"No, we didn't... It's just... I had a session with Yamato today."

"Ah, I see... So, you had one of _those_ sessions, did you? How many times did you cry?" He said sympathetically, his eyes softening in understanding.

"I... Just once." He said, letting out a small, nervous laugh. "There's a lot of shared pain between me and my brother... So, as much as it pains me to say it," Sasuke said with a teasing tone of voice, and Naruto gently hit him on his shoulder. "I'd rather be here with you tonight..."

"Really?" Naruto whispered, not quite believing it. It felt like a breakthrough; Yamato was truly a genius.

"Yeah, really..."

"Does Itachi know you're here?"

"Yeah, I texted him while you were in the bathroom... Said I'm staying with a friend."

"Oh really, a friend huh?"

"Yep."

"You know I'm not your friend, right?" Naruto said, taking his turn to tease the other.

"Oh, you're not?" Sasuke answered him with another, falsely innocent question.

"Would a friend do this?" Naruto asked a little more seriously, before leaning forwards and kissing him. Sasuke subconsciously lifted his hand to rest on Naruto's upper arm, as he kissed him back.

"No, he wouldn't." Sasuke finally answered when they pulled back, only to make the move this time and go back in to connect their lips once more. A heat began to rise between then, and Sasuke heart raced faster when he felt Naruto's lips begin to move against his. Sasuke nervously moved his own; things were slow at first, until they got in to a rhythm. The intoxicating sound of Naruto breathing heavily through his nose, the feeling of his breath against his cheek, the feeling of a warm hand pressing against the small of his back, the feeling of Naruto's tongue as it moved against his own - it was almost too much for Sasuke to bear.

When they finally pulled back, both of them were almost gasping for air. Naruto pressed his forehead against Sasuke's, and Sasuke was reminded of Itachi's gesture of affection - this, however, was so much better.

"So..." Naruto said, opening his eyes.

"Hmmm..." Sasuke hummed, unable to find the right words. He mentally prepared himself for what was coming next - he'd already decided on his answer.

"Why did you join the theatre?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke's eyes snapped open. That was not the question he was expecting.

"Huh?"

"I said, why did you join the theatre?" He asked again, and Sasuke had to take a few moments to clear his mind of the post kiss foggy-ness, to actually think of an answer.

"Umm, oh, I had always enjoyed watching plays there with my parents, and all of my life I've done whatever they wanted me to and... When the opportunity came up, I took the chance and made a decision for myself, for a change..." Sasuke said.

"Aww.." Naruto smiled, and gave Sasuke's arm a reassuring squeeze.

"Why did you?"

"Oh... It's nothing quite as touching as that..." He said, looking away. "I mean, it's pretty obvious, for someone straight forward like me; acting is my passion, and I have to do it no matter what... There's just no other path for me, this is what I want to do with my life." Naruto smiled. "Simple guy, simple answer." He shrugged.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said, as he brought his hand up to Naruto's chin and turned his head to look back at him.

"... Yeah?"

"You're not simple, or obvious, or anything of the sort..." He said, not sure how else to say it.

"Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto smiled, seemingly understanding what he meant. "Now then... Answer me this, Sasuke..."

"... What."

"If friends don't kiss like that, what do you think that makes us?"

"Naruto... Are you asking me out?"

"Umm... Yes?"

"Ask me properly." He said, and Naruto nodded nervously.

"Sasuke, will you... Check your phone?"

"What?"

"Check your phone."

"Okay, idiot..." Sasuke sighed, reaching over to his jeans on the floor and pulling his phone out the pocket. A Facebook notification. A relationship request. From Naruto Uzumaki.

"Well?" Naruto asked, hopeful and nervous and terrified all at the same time. Sasuke didn't answer, and instead just tapped on his phone a few times before locking it and putting it back in his pocket.

"Check your phone." Sasuke said back to him, and Naruto did the same.

_Sasuke Uchiha accepted your relationship request._

Naruto looked up from the notification, grinning from ear to ear. Sasuke couldn't help but smile back, a smile which didn't fade even as they kissed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaah c: some more context for Sasuke. This one was a week later than originally planned, because I had some of my own acting stuff going on last week. I recommend listening to the song To The Moon & Back by Savage Garden after reading this update - It's been on the soundtrack for this fanfic since the very beginning because I've always thought it was very 'Sasuke', but I think it really fits perfectly with this chapter. You could also listen to Golden by Harry Styles; in my eyes this is the official song of the story as it perfectly describes Sasuke's point of view regarding Naruto. By the way, if it seems like things don't add up with regards to Sasuke's words and actions about Naruto... He wants nothing more than to be with him, but he keeps telling himself and everyone else lies and reasons they shouldn't be together to protect himself (and in his own strange way, to protect Naruto too). This story has become like a beast, and is ever changing and even surprising me - the basic plot is mostly the same, but it has become more than I ever expected; there's lots going on in the background than I ever anticipated! Hope you're still enjoying this story so far, dear readers :D


	10. Love Is But A Cup Of Cocoa

_I'll take you way back - countless centuries.  
_ _Don't you remember that you were meant to be my Queen of Hearts..._

_Meant to be my Love._

_Through all of my lives, I never thought I'd wait so long for you.  
_ _The timing is right, the stars are aligned-_

_Bzzzt... B-Bzzzt... B-Bzzzt_

Naruto's phone, left discarded and lonely on the bedside table next to his ear, vibrated with a jarring buzzing noise.

_Ping!_

_Ping!_

_Ping!_

Sasuke groaned, reluctantly cupping both of Naruto's cheeks and pushing his face away from his own, frowning.

"How many friends do you have?" He asked, irritated as he directed his glare to the offending device. They were both laying chest to chest on Naruto's bed, one on top of the other separated only by the fabric of their clothing and had, until a moment ago, been sealing their new relationship with a heated kiss.

"Heh... I guess everyone's seen it on Facebook..." Naruto laughed nervously, then reached over to his phone and turned it off, wincing at the numerous missed calls from Sakura and countless texts from his friends at the theatre. He breathed a sigh of relief, as his ears were given a rest. "Now then..." He smirked, running his right hand through Sasuke's hair and letting it rest by his ear to gently cup the side of his head, bringing his head back down to continue kissing his boyfriend - his fingers tingling with excitement and happiness at the new word - when a hand was pressed against his lips, stopping him.

" _Everyone_?" Sasuke asked, looking quite horrified at the thought.

"Yes... That's how Facebook works. I have pretty much everyone at the theatre on my friends list... shit... I guess I didn't really think about that... Does it bother you?"

"Yeah, just a little bit!" Sasuke hissed, ignoring the fact that he had forgotten about it too - of _course_ everyone would see it. "Not the fact that it says this," he gestured vaguely between them "is a relationship; but the fact that neither of us are out..." he said, putting more emphasis on the last word.

Naruto was silent for a moment or two, before his eyes widened with the realisation. "Shit, shit!" He had forgotten about that little detail. It hadn't even crossed his mind when he came up with the last minute plan, and his mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution. "I... I could say it was a joke and take it down?"

"This will probably get back to my parents..." Sasuke mumbled, initially ignoring the question but then looking away thoughtfully. "Yeah... Let's take it down..." He sighed, grabbing his own phone next to Naruto's pillow, to get rid of the relationship status on his profile.

"This sucks... It feels like I'm deleting what just happened." Naruto pouted as he sat up and grabbed his phone, tapping away at it and posting a made up explanation while he practically straddled his boyfriend. He blushed at the thought, his actions very much contrary to what he had just typed out.

"Well, we both know you're not... These things have to be done a certain way..." Sasuke said slowly, putting his phone back down.

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto sighed, putting his phone down too and gently shifting off of Sasuke, lying on his side to face the other and when Sasuke turned on to his side too, Naruto wrapped his free arm around Sasuke's middle. "Mmm... We can just stay in our own little bubble for a bit." He hummed, gently pressing their foreheads together.

"Of course..." Sasuke said softly, reaching up to run a hand through Naruto's currently messy hair, affectionate yet hesitant - this was all still new to him, and he was still calming down from how panicked he had got thinking everyone knew about it. It was also a soothing gesture for himself.

That night, Sasuke fell asleep wrapped up in Naruto's arms, his head pressed up against Naruto's warm chest - the steady heartbeat calming him. It was the safest he'd felt in a long time.

* * *

A week and a half (and many make-out sessions) later, and it was the last Sunday before Christmas - and the day of their final performance. On this particular day, Naruto was walking down the street on his way to Yamato's therapy with a spring in his step, humming Christmas songs as he went. The bruises on his face had faded and were almost gone, and the cuts were slowly (but surely) healing.

"Naruto!" He heard someone shout - a woman's voice - and he looked around for who had called him, pulling one headphone out his ear. Eventually, he spotted a vaguely familiar redhead walking towards him.

"Hello! Karin, isn't it?" He asked when she was within earshot, turning off his Christmas music and putting away his headphones to give her his full attention.

"Yeah, the other Uzumaki." She smiled. Naruto grinned. "What are the chances, hmm?" She laughed, and continued before Naruto had a chance to respond. "So, how did you find your first session with Oro?" She asked, moving off to the side to get out of the way of the busy city commuters. Naruto followed her.

"Oh, yeah... It went, um, well! Definitely... Different. I actually can't stop though, Karin, I'm on my way to an appointment."

"Oh right, okay..." She said, looking quite conflicted as she thought what to say next. "Well, I was actually thinking it might be cool for us to talk, sometime - I feel like our meeting was a sign... And I don't know what you think, but I always follow the signs." She smiled.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Naruto grinned, and wondered to himself if seeing Orochimaru for any length of time would make him think like Karin, too. "We could meet at the coffee shop around the corner later on?" He suggested.

"Alright, about six?"

"Sounds good." Naruto nodded with a smile, walking backwards as he gave her a " _see you later_!" with a grin and a wave as he continued on to Yamato's.

"So, how are you doing letting that mask go, Naruto - any progress?" Yamato asked a short while later.

"Yeah, alright I think..." He said, shifting in his chair.

"Alright? Can you give me an example?"

"Umm, well..." He looked back at Yamato, and gave him a genuine, bright grin. "I was finally a bit less guarded with Sasuke, and I've been asking him around a bit more for some company - like you had suggested!"

"That's great!" Yamato smiled. "So, did you notice any changes? Did it feel good to let go of that false happy mask?"

"Yeah, well... He's kind of my boyfriend as of last week, so, in that sense it changed things! And, yeah, it felt really good." Naruto said as he released a sigh, feeling happy and relieved all over again. Yamato smiled, and restrained himself from grinning at the positive result of his help. It reminded him why he chose this line of work.

"Good. See, imagine how many more things could change if you keep this up."

"Yeah - Actually, I met someone at Viola Ophidia with the same surname as me. I'll be meeting her later on. She believes we were meant to meet for a reason and wants to chat more over coffee. Perhaps we're very distantly related... That could be a good opportunity to relax a bit more?"

"Yes, it certainly seems so." Yamato said slowly, processing the new information. "I would usually say that's unlikely you're related, but Uzumaki is such an unusual and rare surname these days that it's definitely possible." He said, nodding as he spoke. The rest of their session continued as usual - reviewing his progress and how best to move forward - and he finally left the building at about five forty-five in the evening. ' _Good, just enough time to get myself a hot chocolate before Karin arrives_.' Naruto thought, as he set off for the nearest coffee shop.

* * *

"So, I went home and got some stuff after we bumped into each other earlier..." Karin said after a few minutes of uncomfortable small talk, and pulled her bag up on to the table with a dull thump. "And I think you might find this interesting, Naruto." She said, and out of her bag she pulled out a folded up piece of paper, placed it down on the table, and slid it across towards Naruto.

"Hmm?" Naruto put down his large mug of hot chocolate, a curious frown on his face as he picked up the sheet of paper and unfolded it. "What's this?" He asked, examining it as she answered him.

"It's my family tree, after we met a few weeks ago I was curious and did some research - like I said, I'd not met another Uzumaki for a long time... Well, I'll just let you look and find out for yourself." Karin explained with a smile, and Naruto just nodded slowly as he looked back down at the diagram.

At first glance, Naruto noticed something strange; the family tree started quite bare, expanding about three hundred years ago and then slowly disappearing again towards the bottom... 400 years of Uzumaki's, leading to-

"No fucking way..."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I said."

"You're my cousin?!"

"Yeah... My aunt and uncle - Kushina and Minato - were your birth parents."

"No way..." Naruto said, almost speechless yet happy that he finally knew their names. He had wondered if he and Karin might be distantly related, but he hadn't actually expected them to be - and definitely not in this way. "Wow, and look, there was another Naruto Uzumaki 400 years ago." He smiled, pointing to the top of the sheet.

"Yep! See, here's one good reason why you should always follow the signs!" She joked.

"Yeah..." Naruto trailed off, and looked back at their family tree. "Wow... So according to this, you're a few years older than me, do you maybe-"

"Yeah, I remember them, do you?" She asked, already suspecting the answer.

"No." He shook his head sadly and looked back up, then took another sip of his hot chocolate. "I don't remember them."

"Well, there's something I've been wanting to ask you since I found out, and a few things I want to tell you." Karin said, looking around at the almost empty coffee shop to make sure they wouldn't be disturbed, or that nobody was listening in. It was an independent coffee shop; large warm and cosy with little nooks, and plants lining the walls on shelves - some hanging from the ceiling - and it was dimly lit, with the faint smell of a patchouli scented incense stick burning somewhere nearby. They were sat in two large plush chairs in a small alcove, well out of ear shot of any other customers, or even staff. Once Karin felt assured that this would be a private conversation, she continued. "Let's start with; do you know anything about them, anything at all?"

"Hmm... I only know what I've been told by others over the years, so it might not even be true. All I know is a lot of people didn't like them. Some gang I think, because I noticed a lot of them wear the same symbol on their clothes." Naruto explained. "And I learned recently that my dad's surname was actually Namikaze, but I suppose they were never married when I was born, and I got the Uzumaki name? And then, the only other thing I know is he and my mum got together, he left the gang, and... They weren't too happy about it."

"Okay... So, you know one small side of the story, then..." She said quietly with a frown, as she tried to work out how best to continue. Naruto shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "I don't know what you've been told about them over the years, but your dad, he..." She sighed, sadly. "I'm sorry you probably had to grow up thinking they were bad people, Naruto, but trust me; they really, really weren't." She gave him a sad smile.

"Oh... That's a relief..." Naruto sighed, and Karin nodded before before continuing.

"I knew nothing about it at the time, but before my mother's passing when I was nineteen, she told me everything I didn't know about my aunt, uncle, and you." She paused, and took a sip of her tea. "Your mum and dad knew each other from a young age, and they were teenage sweethearts... But then your dad had unfortunately grown up in a bad neighbourhood, and in their eyes he was talented - he was fast and silent, perfect for stealing things, and the gang who's territory he lived in trapped him in debt somehow so he couldn't leave them... I don't know the exact details, but he was drafted in to the gang - Senchi - and they didn't approve of his relationship with your mother for reasons nobody but they, and your dad, knew. Not even your mum had the full details..." She paused, took another sip of her tea, sighed, and then continued.

"So... Your mum soon found out she was pregnant with you, and Uncle Minato left the group when they began to demand he leave you both, and threatened your's and your mother's lives if he didn't." She said quietly, and Naruto took a sharp intake of breath. "They left the city and hid their identity, and it was all quiet for a while until you were almost three years old... When they..." She trailed off, a pained expression on her face. Naruto reached forwards, and placed a comforting and warm hand on her shaking one. She looked up in to his equally warm and comforting face, and felt the strength to continue - Naruto didn't remove his hand as she continued to talk.

"You were all on the way to visit me and my mum in the city for the first time in years, after a long time of no contact in order to keep your location secret. I don't know why; maybe they thought it was safer after almost four years of laying low but, unfortunately, they never made it... Not long after they reached the city, they got hit." She took a deep breath, needing a few moments to compose herself before she continued. "At a crossroads just around the corner from here, they were hit by a truck, killing them instantly. Luckily you were in the back and survived with only minimal injuries, miraculously." She explained, and Naruto slowly lifted his free hand up to trace one of the faint scars that were present on his cheeks.

"It was a targeted attack organised by Senchi, so because of this the authorities felt it best not to leave you with existing family in case that put us in danger. I was about ten years old, it was... A horrible night, to say the least." She said, breathing a sigh of relief at finally being able to talk about it. "So, I always knew I had a cousin out there somewhere, but I had never met you and didn't even know your name. I'm surprised you kept the surname... That must have been overlooked, somehow..."

"This..." Naruto began slowly, not quite sure what to say or how to process what he had heard. "This is too much..." he eventually said quietly, pulling his hand away from hers and sinking back in to his chair, not looking at her as certain pieces of his memories began to quickly fall in to place at a painfully alarming rate. It was like his life was finally making sense.

"I understand. I'm really sorry, Naruto..."

"I have to go, I-I'll see you again..." He mumbled, standing up and starting to leave, his hot chocolate now long forgotten. "I need to see someone..."

"Wait-" Karin said, reaching out and holding on to Naruto's wrist with one hand, and pulling out a small piece of paper from her bag with the other. "Please - here's my number. If you ever want to talk, I'm only a phone call away." She said, and Naruto took the slip of paper she gave him without another word, then left her alone.

* * *

_Ding!_

The elevator bell chimed and the automatic doors slid open, indicating that he had arrived at Sasuke's floor. It was a private floor, because it was taken up almost entirely by Sasuke's apartment - Sasuke had to buzz Naruto up there in his private elevator from the floor below; it was the only possible way to reach Sasuke's floor without a resident's key card. Naruto stepped out of the elevator and walked down the bright hall in a daze, then gave one solitary, loud knock on the door when he finally got there.

"Hey, you're early for a change." Sasuke said as he opened the door, a small smile playing on his lips - a smile that quickly fell when he saw the uncharacteristically lost and vulnerable expression on Naruto's face. "Naruto..." He said, and placed a hand on the other's shoulder to gently guide him inside. He didn't ask for an explanation, instead deciding to let Naruto be the first to talk.

"Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled, as he sat down on a chair at the kitchen counter. Sasuke circled round in to the kitchen, so he could face his boyfriend. "Something really weird just happened."

"Oh?" Sasuke said, not sure what else to say. He began to quietly make Naruto a hot chocolate, just the way he liked it; plenty of cream and sugar and little marshmallows on top. Naruto often invited Sasuke in to his home after rehearsals and performances - too many times to count - during the weeks Sasuke drove, and Sasuke had quickly learned hot chocolate was Naruto's hot drink of choice. Sasuke had secretly bought a tub of instant hot chocolate, whipped cream, and a bag of little marshmallows - just in case the situation to use them ever presented itself.

"I found out why my parents are dead." He said, not knowing how else to bring it up. Sasuke stopped, and the little spoon slipped out of his grip and on to the marble counter top with a clatter. His jaw dropped.

"O-oh..." He repeated. "... How?"

"Car crash... Intentional..."

"They intentionally crashed their car?" Sasuke asked, quietly and softly.

"No, somebody else hit them on purpose, I was the only one to survive."

"Oh, Naruto..." Sasuke said, still not knowing what to say. The distant sounds of traffic outside drifted in through the open kitchen window, uncomfortably cutting through the tense atmosphere until Naruto finally spoke up again.

"It was a gang called Senchi that did it, apparently." He said, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered the name; it was the one that sandy-blonde haired police woman had used, to refer to the men who had beaten Naruto in the park. Sasuke's eyes quickly narrowed, and he continued making Naruto's drink. "I also have a cousin." Naruto added, a very faint smile beginning to creep in. Sasuke dropped the spoon again, watching as it sank in to the hot drink and disappeared before he looked up at Naruto.

"That's ... a lot." Sasuke said, suddenly feeling stupid for making the hot chocolate, as if it could help.

"Yeah, and we have to get up tonight and perform that show, like everything's normal..." Naruto trailed off, looking worried. Sasuke gave up on the hot chocolate, and came back round to the other side of the counter to sit on the chair next to Naruto. Naruto spun around in the chair so they faced each other, and Sasuke reached forwards to take Naruto's hands in to his own, and looked him in the eye.

"Naruto." He said, commanding his attention. Naruto looked up from their hands, and their eyes connected. "You always say the show goes on no matter what, right? I know you're strong enough to get through it. It's the last show tonight, let's just focus on getting to the curtain call, and then you can stay here tonight. I'm here for you."

"Really?" Naruto asked, his eyes starting to water.

"Yeah. It's what partners are for..." He smiled softly. "If this is going to work between us, I've got to make you a priority, and you me." He said, already beginning to think of his parent's failed marriage. He had decided to commit to this between them, and he didn't plan on going back on his word. "I'm all in."

* * *

All evening during the last performance, Sasuke and Naruto found it extremely difficult to avoid invasive questions and ignore the knowing looks directed at them. Sasuke was quietly seething to himself, cursing them all for not minding their own business and giving him a chance to comfort his boyfriend in his time of need, and Naruto tried his best to act like everything was fine. Throughout the last week and a half since the Facebook incident, everyone had been watching them like hawks, or hanging around like vultures waiting to pick at them, or asking them inappropriate questions. Tonight was no exception, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief when the curtains finally closed on this show for the last time.

"Speech!" Someone shouted out when they had all congregated in the green room, congratulating and hugging each other. Naruto groaned, and looked around for Sasuke as Sakura began to read out the speech she had prepared for them all, addressing each cast member one by one. Naruto checked to see if anyone was watching him, and left to go and look for Sasuke when he was completely sure nobody would notice he had left. He didn't have to look for long, and found Sasuke in the men's dressing room getting out of his Romeo costume.

"Hey, found you." He said with a smile, and Sasuke smiled back, his leg half out of his tight trousers.

"Let's get changed and get the hell out of here." Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded. Naruto was halfway out of his Nurse's costume - hooped skirt halfway over his head with Sasuke's help (or rather, his attempt at helping) when Lee poked his head in to the dressing room.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Naruto!" He shouted, covering his eyes as Naruto moved some of the fabric aside to peer out of the skirt at their intruder. "S-Sakura is just up to your part in the speech, and asked me to find you." He said, and before Sasuke had a chance to rearrange the skirt and save Naruto's dignity, three other cast members arrived, quickly followed by more. Someone at the back wolf-whistled, and they all started to murmur loudly to each other about the provocative situation they had found the pair in.

"Get the hell out!" Sasuke shouted, and everyone fell silent. Naruto finally got his skirt back down, and avoided looking at anyone.

"Alright, jerk." Kiba was the first to speak up again before leaving, almost everyone else following until just Sakura was left - a curious frown on her face as she lingered for a moment looking back and forth between the two, before she also left. Sasuke sighed.

Ten minutes and a lot of fighting with fabric later, Naruto and Sasuke were both changed and heading for the back door, as everyone else was still enjoying the after show pre-Christmas party feast in the green room. Sasuke was about to open the door, when a small cough stopped him. Naruto turned around to see Sakura standing there, next to a pile of discarded props that hadn't been thrown out yet.

"You two aren't staying for the Christmas party?" Sakura asked, looking quite upset by that fact.

"Uh, no..." Naruto said apologetically, looking at Sasuke. "Sasuke drove tonight, and I couldn't convince him to stay!" He lied, refusing to look Sakura in the eye. Part of him regretted that they weren't staying, as he normally loved a party like this - in fact, they had all been talking about it for weeks; especially Naruto.

It was going to be a joint after show and member's Christmas party, so it was going to be busy. There was going to be a secret santa, a raffle, and drinking games - back at the beginning of rehearsals, Naruto had even planned on asking Sakura for a kiss beneath the mistletoe. But a lot of things had changed since then, and all Naruto wanted to do now more than anything was to go back to Sasuke's apartment, curl up under a blanket with his boyfriend, and not think for a while.

"That's a shame..." Sakura said, shuffling from one foot to the other and looking like she had more to say. "But, it's not goodbye at least - I mean, you'll both be back here again in a couple of weeks for the preparations on the next show no doubt!" She smiled.

"Of course!" Naruto grinned. Sakura smiled back.

"Here, you didn't get to hear the speech before..." Sakura said, handing the piece of paper to Naruto. "Make sure you both read it! Happy Christmas, and if I don't see you both before - Happy New Year!"

"Ah, you too, Sakura." He smiled, genuinely this time, and she gave them both a wave before running off to join the others.

"You think she knew?" Naruto asked a few moments later, as they got in to Sasuke's car.

"Not a clue." Sasuke said, starting the car. "Never been able to understand women." He said, and Naruto finally laughed for the first time that evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks for reading and sticking with this story <3 I appreciate and see it all, the bookmarks, kudos, comments; thank you! As I said, this story is unfolding and becoming something I never imagined at the start and I love it - feel a bit like I'm on this ride with the characters and you my lovely reader :) suggested to accompany this chapter; Past Lives by BØRNS - the lyrics are so perfect, it gave me all the feels c':
> 
> PS; I don't think the Senchi will be explained much in this story as they're quite secretive, naturally, so I'll let you know here if you're interested! The name is a mixture of Senju and Uchiha; two old clans they were inspired by from which two prominent members founded Konoha (as you probably know!) 400 years ago in the mythical 'age of shinobi' (that nobody believes was real, and instead they believe most stories from that time are just myth and legend). They use the old Uchiha clan symbol (which is not used by the Uchiha family anymore - there aren't any clans and therefore no clan symbols) to appear powerful. Naruto recognised it when he saw it, because he'd seen it in his dreams where he glimpsed his past life with Sasuke (the life we all know about!)


	11. eUphoria

"Mmm... I don't want to go to bed..." Naruto hummed, snuggling closer to Sasuke's surprisingly warm body beneath the covers, bathed in a glowing light from the TV in front of them (all other lights in the apartment turned off) as the sheets made a soft crinkling noise when he moved. It was 2am, and the remains of their take-out chinese food were still on the table in front of them, the episode they were watching on Amazon Prime almost finished. Naruto had said they should go to sleep after this one ("Just one more..." He had said, conveniently forgetting that he'd said that for the last three episodes). When they had got back from the theatre and entered Sasuke's apartment, Naruto had made a beeline straight for Sasuke's bedroom, and quickly returned with the dark blue comforter they now had covering them.

"Hmm..." Sasuke hummed in response, not knowing how to answer that, and just ran his free hand gently up and down Naruto's arm. They had a lot to talk about, and there were many unspoken words between them, many questions unanswered; why did this feel so familiar, like they'd done it a thousand times before? When had these feelings first developed? Why did this feel as easy and as natural as breathing? Sasuke felt as though the second he had let that last protective wall crumble, it was like he had been holding back a flood and now he was drowning. But instead of that clawing, desperate, absolutely terrifying loss of breath and life that he had expected, it felt like euphoria... like he had been immersed and drenched in something sweet and warm and wonderful. Yes, so many things to say, so many words that needed to fall from both of their lips... but right now, all he wanted to do was enjoy the warmth radiating from the man next to him, pressed against his side and nestled in his arms.

As they continued watching the TV show - Mr Robot - Sasuke's mind began to wander. He thought back to the first time he remembered meeting the man currently curled up against him; it was at an audition at the theatre. Sasuke never told him this and, as far as the blonde was concerned, their first meeting had been in the props cupboard. But Sasuke had actually attended an audition as an observer, when he was still testing the waters to see if he wanted to join. When Naruto had walked up to the stage he was transfixed, and couldn't take his eyes off him. The way the loud, energetic man suddenly went from that to cold, cruel and calculated in the blink of an eye; he'd never seen anything like it.

Sasuke would never say love at first sight, but Naruto had definitely caught his eye. When Sasuke later joined the theatre, he had a hard time holding in his surprise upon learning from Sakura (who had instantly taken a liking to him) that Naruto hadn't got the part that day - in fact, he had been trying for parts for a long time and never had any success, always being seen as the props guy. Sasuke thought that anyone with eyes could see Naruto was clearly talented, and he questioned the integrity of the place; especially when he noticed that it was always the 'regulars' who got parts.

Naturally, Sasuke had just relentlessly called him out for constantly being put back in his place as the props man, silently hoping that his goading and teasing would push Naruto to grow a pair and not constantly make excuses for the place. It worked, and he had inwardly celebrated the victory as he watched Naruto quit as head of props, watched as the rest of the regular backstage team fell over themselves trying to figure something out. Served them right, taking Naruto for granted.

He had silently dubbed the place Backscratch Theatre, for the sheer amount of mutual back scratching and ego stroking that went on in the place. But, for all that, he still enjoyed going there - telling himself he only went back again and again to watch Naruto keep trying and failing and eventually succeeding. If he really thought about it, he supposed he'd been attracted to him since that moment that he first laid eyes on him - but he had long since buried that part of him that he barely even noticed it was happening, until he could no longer ignore it that night when they had kissed in this very room. Sasuke tore his eyes away from the TV to look at the window, and smiled at the memory.

"Oh my God!" Naruto shouted at the TV, bringing Sasuke's attention back.

"What, what?" He said, his head snapping back around, and he frowned when he heard the slight panic in his voice. Naruto paused the TV, and just pointed at it. Sasuke followed his finger, and looked at the actor - Rami Malek - stood in a graveyard looking devastated, confused, broken and ruined all at once, in just one freezeframe - the guy was clearly a talented actor. "What?" Sasuke repeated again, more composed this time. Naruto said nothing, and just rewound the program a minute or two. They watched together, as the big secret about Mr Robot was revealed.

"Oh my God." Sasuke repeated quietly, and they finished watching the episode in silence.

"Aaah." Naruto leaned back and stretched, as the titles rolled up on the TV.

"Wow..." Sasuke said, biting his tongue to keep himself from suggesting they watch the next one - it was really late (or early?) and they really should get going to bed. The guest bed was still made up from when Itachi had visited, even though he'd left a week ago, but they both already silently knew they'd be sharing Sasuke's king size bed.

"Anoth-"

"No. Bed." Sasuke said forcefully, not giving Naruto a chance to suggest watching the next episode. A blush quickly crept onto Naruto's cheeks, spreading on to Sasuke's as though it were contagious when he realised the implication of his words and tone. He cleared his throat. "Um, I mean. It's late, let's get some sleep..." He mumbled, reluctantly pulling back the sheet and shivering slightly at the loss of warmth.

"Awww..." Naruto whined and then yawned, stretching up and wrapping the sheet around him like a cape as he stood up. Sasuke had his back turned to him as he turned the TV off, but when he turned around to give Naruto his attention he stared; there Naruto stood with his eyes drooping from tiredness and wrapped up in his blue sheets, like a cacoon. 'Cute...' He thought to himself, his lips parting slightly. "C'mere." Naruto smiled, and held open the sheets which Sasuke happily walked up to, allowing himself to be hugged by Naruto and enveloped once again in the warm sheets, pressed up against his very warm significant other who was now kissing him, softly.

"Just think," Naruto said quietly, after he had begrudgingly pulled his lips away from Sasuke's. "right about now we'd only just be getting back in from the party... I'd say this was a better way to spend the evening."

"Yeah, I'd say you're right..." Sasuke smiled, then began to pull away from Naruto's embrace. "But as nice as it's been, we really do need to sleep now."

"Alright, fine." Naruto pouted, and Sasuke reluctantly tore himself away from the sheets again and headed towards his bedroom.

"Come on then." Sasuke called from down the hall, gesturing for Naruto to follow him. Naruto's blush remained, as he awkwardly shuffled through the apartment with the comforter still wrapped around him. Sasuke laughed at the sight when Naruto finally entered his room, and soon enough they were once again wrapped up in each other, sleeping soundly beneath the covers.

* * *

"I'd like to know more about your family, Sasuke." Naruto said softly, as they cuddled up to each other under the covers the next morning, both lazily staring out the bedroom window. Both of them were off of work for the holidays, and with the play now finished neither of them had any commitments. It felt good to have no responsibilities, for a change. "I mean... If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to... but I was thinking about what you said yesterday evening, about how you're all in on this, we have to prioritise each other... I agree, I want this to be a true partnership, I want to know all about you." Naruto smiled, and looked up at Sasuke from his spot on his chest. Sasuke smiled back.

"It's a bit uncomfortable to talk about, yeah..."

"O-oh."

"But I want to. You're right." He shifted slightly, and Naruto went quiet, letting him control the conversation. "Well, there's my mum and dad - Fugaku and Mikoto. And my brother Itachi, and then me, the youngest." Sasuke began, looking back out of the window and focusing on a distant rooftop of another high-rise apartment building, rising up above the low hanging snow clouds - it was like they were in their own heaven on earth. The thought comforted him, allowing him to continue. "We had a cousin, Shisui, who grew up around here too, but when I was younger he and his mother were killed in a car accident. He was Itachi's best friend, and I don't think he took it very well... neither did our mother, she lost both her younger sister and nephew. She's the only one left on her side of the family now, besides her brother-in-law…" He trailed off, and Naruto shifted slightly against him, bringing him back in to the room.

"He lost contact with us over the years, but the last I heard he's still in the city. Then there's my second cousin, Obito, who's father - my father's cousin - died of lung cancer when he was thirteen, and his mum had left when he was a child, so he was taken in by his grandfather and my dad's uncle - Madara. My dad was an only child and I never knew my grandparents, they had all died before I was born. I don't know any further than that." Sasuke shrugged, looking back at Naruto.

"I see..."

"My parents were very strong, still are. They've been through a lot."

"Yes, I can see that..." Naruto mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

"But they were never around very much. Itachi was an only child for the first six years of his life, and very mature for his age by the time I arrived. As soon as Itachi was capable of looking after me about ten years later, our parents began to become more and more absent, focusing on the family business that they had worked on together almost from the ground up. My father had taken the reins from his father and took it to new heights, expanding globally." Sasuke sighed.

"Yamato tells me I'm allowed to feel like I was neglected, but I still feel selfish about it... I was never really hugged much." He added, not sure why it felt so important to say so, but it felt very appropriate right now, as he was wrapped up in Naruto's glorious embrace. Naruto tightened his hold, and Sasuke continued. "It was hard, when they left me and Itachi here... that's when I moved into this place with my brother. I cried a lot. Itachi didn't know what to do with me..." He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Oh, Sasuke..."

"Then Itachi left when I was sixteen, and... I was lost for a long time. I focused on my education, determined not to join the family business like Itachi and everyone else. They still pay for this place, and until I can afford my own I'm stuck here. I pay the utility and food bills now since I graduated, which is why I've been working in the Konoha division for the past seven months to afford it; my degree isn't really worth the paper it's written on, and I'm doing what I thought I'd never do. The theatre has been my saving grace, really. In more ways than one." Sasuke finally smiled, looking back at Naruto again.

"Thank you." Naruto breathed.

"What for?"

"For telling me all that, opening up, letting me in..."

"It's nothing..." Sasuke said dismissively, already feeling guilty and selfish for airing out his dirty laundry, when Naruto had plenty of his own to deal with. "You've got things going on right now, I don't want to make things about me."

"I asked." Naruto pointed out, poking Sasuke's side playfully. "And anyway, I don't want to think about my shit right now."

"Oh, and hearing about my misery helps you, does it?" Sasuke smirked, playing along with him.

"Absolutely!" Naruto grinned, and Sasuke playfully pushed him off, flipping them over so Sasuke was now hovering above him.

"Usuratonkachi." He laughed, as they began to play fight with each other, tangling up the covers. Naruto stopped above him, a confused look on his face as he let out a breathy laugh.

"What the hell does that mean?" He laughed.

"No idea." Sasuke laughed back.

* * *

"I paid for your car repairs." Sasuke admitted, absentmindedly shoving another handful of the greasy, salty fries into his mouth as they sat opposite each other in the busy fast food restaurant. Sasuke had never been allowed McDonald's growing up, so he had very enthusiastically agreed to it when Naruto had suggested coming here for lunch. It was fatty, greasy, mundane, normal. Sasuke secretly loved it.

"I knew it was you!" Naruto shouted out around a mouthful of cheeseburger. Sasuke winced at the sight.

"How?"

"I dunno, process of elimination?" He took another bite of his cheeseburger. "So, how'd you manage to pull that one off?" He asked, genuinely curious. Sasuke finished consciously eating a chicken nugget, contrary to the enthusiastic way he had eaten his fries moments ago, before he answered. Naruto thought it was cute.

"Well, you told me you sold it for scrap and I..." He looked away, embarrassed. "I called up all the scrap places in the city, until I found the one that had your car." He blushed lightly at the confession. "They didn't let me at first because I wasn't the previous owner, but money talks..." Sasuke cleared his throat, awkwardly. "I picked it up, got the keys, and then had it towed to a garage when it broke down again halfway there," He laughed, before continuing. "said make it like new, spare no expense." He winked at Naruto.

"Only the best for me?" He laughed.

"Of course." Sasuke said without hesitation, and Naruto sipped his coke, smiling stupidly at the confession.

"Why?"

"Why? I dunno... I thought you deserved it, and I definitely don't deserve all this money so I thought it was right to spend it on someone who did." He shrugged.

"That's sweet." Naruto said, and Sasuke smiled back.

* * *

"So..." Naruto mumbled, looking at the clock in the living room later on in the evening, when they'd finished another few episodes of Mr Robot. "maybe I should go home soon..." He said, his tone clearly indicating that he would rather do anything but.

"You don't have to." Sasuke said, after some thought.

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed, holding back his grin.

"I mean, if you want, you could stay here over the holidays...I was only going to invite you over for Christmas in a few days anyway..." Sasuke mumbled, running his hand up and down Naruto's arm absently. Naruto finally grinned.

"Okay! I'll go and get some clothes and stuff then - think they'll fit in your awesome walk-in closet?" He asked. He had been very impressed by it, when Sasuke had given him a little tour of his apartment that morning.

"My clothes don't even fill up half the space." Sasuke said, and that was all Naruto needed to hear.

* * *

"Happy Christmas, Sasuke." Naruto shuffled a bit closer to his boyfriend, mumbling sleepily.

"Good morning, Merry Christmas." Sasuke said back, kissing him on the top of his head.

"Hmmm... let's just stay in bed all day..." Naruto hummed, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's middle and nuzzling even closer, not opening his eyes.

"Then who will cook Christmas dinner?" Sasuke teased.

"You have enough money, pay a chef to do it for us and serve us in bed." Naruto smiled softly at the thought.

"Hmmm... that does sound tempting..." Sasuke mused, and laughed when Naruto looked at him in surprise. "but we're making it together, I've already planned it out." Sasuke finally concluded, and Naruto almost whined. Sasuke hadn't properly celebrated Christmas since Itachi had left, usually just getting a KFC Christmas Meal Deal and calling it a day. But since Naruto had agreed to spending Christmas with him, he'd done his research. Sasuke had reluctantly called up his mum for tips on how she did Christmas all those years ago, and came up with his own schedule for the day. He was quite meticulous with the schedule for Christmas dinner.

He had planned for himself and Naruto to exchange gifts after breakfast in bed, then they were going to eat chocolate and Christmas pudding as they watched _The Snowman_ \- and other Christmas classics like _Love Actually,_ _Die Hard... Shrek The Halls_. He had even picked out a few awful Hallmark holiday movies for them to watch that he hoped Naruto would appreciate. And then they would work together on dinner, like a normal couple.

"Well, I trust you, Sasuke..." Naruto finally said, yawning.

"I'm going to make us breakfast." Sasuke responded, before reluctantly leaving Naruto in his bed.

"Hurry back, it's getting cold already!" Naruto called. Sasuke just laughed, and soon returned with bacon sandwiches. The rest of the morning and afternoon played out like he had imagined; the two of them once again curled up together on the sofa. It seemed like that was all they had done over the past few days; Sasuke was surprised he had time to do the shopping and keep Naruto's Christmas gifts a secret, as they were wrapped up in each other almost 24/7. Sasuke had bumped into Sakura at the grocery store, and it had been very awkward when she eyed up the array of orange and fox-themed gifts in his basket. She didn't say anything, however, and he was silently thankful for that.

"Presents time!" Naruto cheered, when Sasuke came back to the living room from the guest room, his arms laden with carefully wrapped gifts. He smiled, Naruto's excitement rubbing off on him.

"Yep!" He said, and Naruto ran off to get his gift for Sasuke out of his suitcase.

"Wow..." Naruto said, impatiently tearing the paper off gift after gift; A DVD boxset of the Back to the Future trilogy, an orange ukelele, a fox plushie, a fox themed calendar for the new year, and a voucher for a meal for two at the city's most prestigious restaurant - The Wolcott. "Thank you so much, Sasuke!" He hugged him, and kissed his cheek.

"It's nothing..."

"Open yours!" Naruto said, excitedly. Sasuke reached for his gifts, and Naruto looked beside himself. A dark blue scarf, hat, and glove set, a calendar, a big box of expensive looking dark chocolates from Sasuke's favourite chocolatier, a copy of the original Gutsy Ninja novel, two tickets to see the musical Wicked, and-

"Naruto... you-?" Sasuke said, touched as he held up his last gift to inspect it closer; a ring that he had seen when out with Naruto a few weeks ago, but had been too nervous to buy. It was quite a feminine ring, with a moonstone set in silver flanked by two silver moons, but he liked it. He hadn't even said anything, but clearly Naruto had noticed his gaze had lingered on the item a bit too long. "I love it." Sasuke finally said, putting the ring on his index finger. Naruto sighed in relief, and hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath the whole time.

"One of them is technically a regift..." He said nervously, referring to the musical tickets he had gotten from Hinata for his birthday. He didn't want to go on his own and was just going to sell them, not wanting to lead Hinata on by inviting her with him like she was probably hoping for. But then he had a good reason for inviting Sasuke along, now they were in a relationship. Sasuke shook his head, dismissing Naruto's comment.

"Thank you." He said, and Naruto reached for the blue scarf, placing it around Sasuke's neck and using it to pull him in for a kiss.

Christmas dinner didn't go as smoothly as he had planned, with light bickering as they got used to moving around each other in the kitchen. At some point, Naruto managed to spill gravy all over the two of them, but was instantly forgiven when he stripped his shirt off. Eventually, they sat down together at his dining table, and enjoyed the fruits of their labour. All in all, Sasuke would say this was the best Christmas he had ever had, and Naruto would agree with him.

"I'm staying for New Years too, right?" Naruto asked softly, when they finally got to bed later on in the evening. "I want to start the new year with you." He added, humming and lazily drawing patterns on Sasuke's chest with his finger.

"Yeah, of course." He smiled. "I want to start it with you, too." Naruto sighed happily as he leaned up to kiss him. Sasuke breathed in deeply and wrapped his arms around him, remaining wrapped up in all that was Naruto for a long time until they both drifted off, into a comfortably deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff for ya c: more festive feels in the next chapter!
> 
> Beta'd by: Sour Queen @ fanfiction.net
> 
> I made an apartment tour video for Naruto and Sasuke's apartments because I'm way too invested in this story now lol, watch it here! youtu.be/TX8zcUqlwSE
> 
> Sasuke's Ring (the silver one):  
> 


	12. defying Gravity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for being patient! At last, here is chapter 12! It was originally double this length, but I've had to split it in to two parts. Please enjoy and let me know if you do! Lastly, thanks so much to the user who added this to a collection, made me really happy c:

"Good morning..." The warm man mumbled next to him, partially muffled against the bare skin of Sasuke's upper arm. Sasuke responded by running his other hand gently through the messy blonde hair, turning his head and smiling down at him fondly as his gaze momentarily caught the slim ring (which he hadn't taken off once in the two days since Naruto gave it him), sitting on a finger now interwoven in Naruto's hair.

Sasuke had lost count of how many mornings they had spent together like this, by now. The cold winter mornings were spent wrapped up in each other in his warm bed, within his top floor apartment, elevated above the rest of the world and nesting in their own little, blissful bubble. He knew it had to end, he and Naruto would have to return to work... Perhaps Naruto's neighbour Iruka, or the inseparable Kotetsu and Izumo, were missing him. Sasuke unconsciously tightened his hold at the thought, prompting Naruto to finally open his eyes.

"You okay?" Naruto croaked, voice still thick with sleep.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Me too." He smiled. "Hmmm... You know what I wanna do?"

"Mmm?" Sasuke hummed, colour rising in his cheeks as Naruto traced light patterns up and down his arm, his heart racing. The feeling was intoxicating.

"I want us to both check our emails." Naruto grinned up at him, and Sasuke wondered if he even realised how much of a tease he was being. "The audition results were meant to have been announced this morning, so we'll see that we both got the parts in Gutsy Ninja, and then..." Naruto trailed off, placing a soft kiss to the nearest patch of pale skin. 'Yep, he knows exactly how much of a tease he's being' Sasuke thought to himself. "We can have a celebratory make out session." Naruto waggled his eyebrows, and lightly dragged the tips of his fingers over where he had quickly learned was Sasuke's sensitive spot, just below his navel.

"Idiot, how do you know it won't be a commiserations make out session." He refuted, squirming under Naruto's touch, and holding back the degrading giggling that threatened to escape.

"Why do you have to be so negative all the time." Naruto placed his hands on Sasuke's shoulders, and pushed him down in to the mattress as he straddled him, knees resting comfortably either side of Sasuke's hips. "Either way, you get my irresistible lips." He pouted, and made kissy sounds with said lips. Sasuke struggled beneath him, and Naruto tightened his hold in response.

"You're so embarrassing." Sasuke started to laugh despite himself, as Naruto leaned forwards to try and kiss him - which Sasuke continued to dodge by twisting his head.

"Aww come on baby, let me give you a big wet kiss." He laughed, managing to plant one on Sasuke's cheek.

"Disgusting!" Sasuke cried out, trying to free one of his hands - currently trapped by Naruto's legs - so he could wipe the saliva off his cheek, and failing. "You're so disgusting!" He attempted to wipe his cheek against his pillow instead, managing to get rid of most of it.

"You can always tell me to leaaaaave." Naruto teased, finally loosening his grip. "But I know you'd miss me, I might as well do you a favour and just move in."

Sasuke momentarily froze, his blood running both hot and cold. "And how exactly is that a favour?" He asked, trying to keep his previous light-hearted tone.

"I can keep you from being lonely up here." Naruto grinned that warm, comforting grin that Sasuke was quickly becoming attached to, and he visibly relaxed.

"Who says I'm lonely here?" He asked, but knew that they both knew Naruto was right. He also knew Naruto was lonely at his place, too, despite being surrounded by friendly neighbours. "Anyway, let's check those emails then." He said, changing the subject to something more comfortable.

It turned out that they had both got the parts of the rival ninjas, and they celebrated just the way Naruto wanted; tangling up in the sheets and each other, becoming lost to the world once more.

As their mouths and tongues melded together, Naruto shifted in his spot above Sasuke, trying to get closer even though they lay chest to chest. His hand slowly ran up Sasuke's arm, as Sasuke's legs moved just slightly to allow Naruto to nestle between them as they continued kissing, eyes closed. Quiet moans escaped from both their lips as little humming noises, mixing with the gentle wet sounds of their lips and tongues moving in unison.

Naruto brought his other hand up to stroke Sasuke's cheek, moving it down slowly to the nape of his neck and burrowing his fingers in the dark hair, giving it a very gentle tug as he absently massaged his scalp.

"Naruto..." Sasuke breathed in to the kiss, tilting his head to the side in an attempt to get closer.

"Hmmm, Sasuke..." Naruto smiled against his lips, and pulled back slightly. "Does that feel nice?" Naruto practically cooed, and Sasuke silently nodded his confirmation as he brought their lips back together.

"Yeah... S'nice..." He said, closing his eyes and losing himself to the sensation, the way his skin burned in the most delicious way wherever their bodies connected, the way his chest felt like it was glowing, how he felt like he was losing all control. He hoped the man above him was similarly affected.

Naruto continued running his hand through Sasuke's hair, bringing his other hand up from Sasuke's shoulder to join in the massaging of his boyfriend's sensitive scalp. From somewhere in the back of Sasuke's mind, a voice was telling him to stop lying motionless like a dead fish - and so in response, he defiantly brought his own hands up around Naruto's back, feeling the sheets shifting around them at the motion.

With his fingertips barely grazing tanned skin, he slowly dragged his hands up and down Naruto's back, swallowing the humming and soft laughter that it elicited from the other man, vibrating against his cheek.

"That's so good, Sasuke..." Naruto breathed, voicing his approval as he broke the kiss.

"Do you ever shut up?" Sasuke asked quietly, amused but terrified of breaking the atmosphere with his careless words.

"This parts all about communication, too." Naruto smiled, kissing Sasuke gently on the cheek. "How else will I know what you like, and how will you know what I like?" He laughed, blushing as he bent down to gently nibble Sasuke's earlobe.

"Well, I don't like that..." Sasuke mumbled sarcastically, his breath hitching and his voice husky.

"Mmmhmm, sure Sasuke." Naruto continued, able to read Sasuke's sarcasm for once and Sasuke hummed appreciatively, non-verbally giving Naruto the green light. After a few more minutes of this, Naruto's hips started to roll against Sasuke's, and the green light very quickly became red.

"W-what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, stuttering slightly and cursing inwardly.

"Sasuke?" Naruto looked confused.

"You were rubbing against me... Down there..." He suddenly felt very vulnerable and a little embarrassed, as he blushed and looked away.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I was just caught up in the mood... I'm so sorry, Sasuke..." Naruto apologised, gently rolling off his perch on top of Sasuke and lying next to him.

"Don't apologise." Sasuke smiled somewhat apologetically too, turning to face Naruto. "I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of stuff yet- ah, I know that sounds odd because we've been sleeping in the same bed for the past week, but..." He almost stuttered, trying to explain himself as he became a little flustered. "I'd just... Like to take some aspects of this relationship more slowly... Sorry..."

"If I can't apologise then you can't either." Naruto smiled, eyes softening as he looked lovingly at his partner. "I suppose I just never really thought about it - I go with the flow, you know me by now." He laughed softly, and smiled at Sasuke who laughed and smiled back. Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's cheeks, soaking up the rare sight.

"Yeah, you don't really think about much, do you?" Sasuke teased, and Naruto laughed harder.

"I should be offended!" He said between giggles, and Sasuke swatted his hand away playfully. "Anyway..." He began, sounding more serious again. "You know you can always tell me if you're uncomfortable - I told you before, if you need time then you got it." He said, and Sasuke smiled softly at him before kissing him on the nose in a silent 'thank you' before getting out of bed to get dressed. Naruto whined about it for a while, but eventually followed suit as they both got ready for the day.

* * *

_"Something has changed within me... Something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game!"_

The show was reaching it's first climax, and Naruto and Sasuke watched transfixed from the audience as the two actresses on stage played out the pivotal, famous moment in the musical Wicked.

_"I hope you're happy, now that you're choosing this..."_

_"You too..."_

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as the two contrasting, unlikely best friends parted ways, and without taking his eyes off the scene he reached for Sasuke's hand and held it tight, while the group chasing after the green-skinned witch Elpheba suddenly broke in, and her friend tried to hold them back.

 _"I'm the one you want, it's me- It's me!"_ Came the voice of the actress playing Elpheba, right before she was hoisted in to the air. She stayed suspended above the onlookers on the stage, her best friend, Glinda, looking on in admiration after their emotional and heartbreaking split.

_"So if you care to find me, look to the western sky!"_

Naruto watched in awe, feeling goosebumps quickly spreading along his arms and at the back of his neck. He briefly glanced over at Sasuke, and was momentarily overcome with an overwhelming emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on - like he was Glinda, and it was Sasuke that was leaving him. He swallowed hard, and turned his attention back to the stage as he tightened his hold on Sasuke's hand.

_"And nobody, in all of Oz - no wizard that there is or was - is ever gonna bring me down."_

Sasuke's eyes quickly darted towards Naruto's hand around his own and back, feeling an odd sense of familiarity at the scene that was playing out in front of them. It was quite empowering, and filled him up with a powerful feeling and an emotion that he couldn't quite understand.

_"Look at her, she's wicked!"_

About ten minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves in the theatre bar with a drink each; Naruto with a Kopparberg, and Sasuke with vodka and Coke.

"Well holy shit!" Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, it's amazing."

"I wish we could put on a show that good at Konoha Theatre, I'd love to do a professional musical..." Naruto sighed wistfully. "But there's only so much community theatre can do, I suppose!" He shrugged, and took a sip of his drink.

"You'll get there, one day." Sasuke said quietly against the rim of the glass, before taking a sip.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, you're an amazing actor."

"Sasuke..."

"And you're persistent and annoying, you won't just be knocking quietly on the doors of the industry, you'll be knocking them down."

"You... I'm taking that as a compliment!"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked, and just continued drinking. Naruto felt like he was glowing; he knew Sasuke thought highly of his skills as an actor, but to hear such a compliment coming directly from him was something else entirely.

"Anyway... So, what do you think - don't you think Elpheba should have stayed?" Naruto asked, referring to the scene they'd just witnessed.

"Absolutely not."

"What? Why?"

"They were holding her back from her true potential, that's what the whole song was all about."

"But her friends, Glinda..."

"Sometimes bridges have to be burned, don't they? Life doesn't always stay the same, I'm sure you know that by now - if it didn't, we wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, you're right, but... Still. Glinda could have gone with her."

"Maybe... But they both had their own paths in life, their own separate destiny."

"I still think their friendship was more important, than destiny."

"Just because they parted, doesn't mean they were no longer friends. Glinda clearly recognised what was best for them both, and still fought to protect her friend from people who thought she was evil. That's true friendship."

"Hmm..." Naruto smiled, feeling like a weight had been lifted. "Perhaps you're right."

"Of course." Sasuke smirked again.

_Ping!_

Naruto pulled his phone out of his pocket, and smiled as he began typing out a text.

"Selfie for Sakura!" Naruto grinned, moving to stand next to Sasuke and held up his drink to the phone.

"What?" Sasuke barely had time to process what was happening, giving the phone an awkward smile as Naruto took the photo.

"Sakura texted me to see if I had gone to Wicked with Hinata, and I told her I'd gone with you so she said 'pics or it didn't happen'." Naruto laughed, sending the photo.

"You're not sending her that."

"It's just gone..." He mumbled apologetically, and Sasuke just sighed as Naruto's phone lit up with a reply. Sasuke hadn't noticed, and Naruto checked it before he did. He blushed when he read the response, that read _'_ _well, someones clearly having a good time_ _'_ , followed by a winking emoji.

_'yeah, this musical is amazing!'_

_'And the rest! Anyway, don't forget to text me at midnight!'_

Naruto smiled and put his phone away, reminded of the fact that it was new years eve and he suddenly felt excited again. He and Sasuke didn't have any wild plans or parties to go to, and it was going to be a lot different from the new years celebrations he was used to, but he had never started the new year with somebody to kiss at midnight; with a partner to enter the new year with. He'd always watched other's do this from the sidelines, and he was excited for it to finally be his turn.

* * *

_"10, 9, 8, 7..."_ The crowd gathered in Konoha Square chanted in unison, projected in to Sasuke's living room via the TV. "6, 5, 4..." Naruto began counting down with them, ready to unscrew the bottle that they had picked up on the way back from watching Wicked - a screw top, as Sasuke refused to let him get a bottle with a cork in ("If you pop that in my apartment and break a window, I'll break your arm", "Aww, but where's the fun in screwing it off?").

"3... 2... 1." Naruto grinned and turned to Sasuke on the sofa, only to be taken by surprise when Sasuke was the one to lean forwards and kiss him, placing a hand behind Naruto's head as Naruto opened the bottle. Sasuke pulled back and Naruto grinned, pausing for a moment before he remembered what he was doing, and poured the champagne in to the two glasses on the table in front of them.

"Happy new year!" He cheered, lifting his glass to Sasuke's before downing it. Sasuke laughed, and took a small sip of his own with an equally small smile.

"Happy new year, Naruto."

* * *

"Good evening sirs and welcome to The Wolcott, may I take your order?"

"Yes, thank you, I will have the lobster thermidor - with a side salad please, and he will have...?" Sasuke turned to Naruto opposite him, who was still scrutinising the fancy menu.

"I don't understand what any of these are..." He mumbled, before frowning up at the waiter. "Which one would I get if I wanted ramen a la pork?" He asked, and Sasuke barely held back his laughter, not knowing which was funnier; Naruto's attempt at sounding fancy, or the serious look on his face as he did it.

"Unfortunately sir, we do not serve ramen dishes. May I recommend the spaghetti carbonara instead?"

"Carburettor?" Naruto tilted his head, and this time a snicker managed to escape Sasuke's lips.

"Carbonara - it's spaghetti in a creamy sauce with little pieces of pork. I think you'll like it." Sasuke said, with an amused smirk.

"Oh! Okay, yes then in that case good sir, I will have the spaghetti carburettor, please, thank you!" He grinned at the waiter, who was doing a better job than Sasuke at holding in his laughter but still looked amused all the same. He took their menus, and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

"You're such an idiot." Sasuke said fondly as he shook his head, the smile never leaving his lips.

"What? What'd I do?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused. Sasuke was about to answer, when Naruto waved his hand to shut him up and fixed his gaze on a spot over Sasuke's shoulder. His expression turned a bit more serious. "Sasuke... I think someone's staring at you..." He said quietly, and Sasuke frowned as he started to turn around to see who Naruto was looking at. "No! Don't turn around and make it obvious." Naruto hissed, looking back at him. "He looks scary."

"What does he look like?"

"Umm, actually, he looks a bit like you but a lot older... Light skin, dark hair - it's very long and messy. But he looks smart too, he's wearing a suit..." He trailed off, looking back at Sasuke and seeing the strange, unreadable expression on Sasuke's face.

"Tell me when I can look around, is he still watching?" Sasuke asked, voice and face suddenly serious again. Naruto's eyes darted back to the man, who was now talking to a waitress.

"You can look around." Naruto confirmed with a nod, and Sasuke did.

"Madara..." His eyes narrowed, as they settled on the man in question. "What's he doing here, he works at the company in Dubai." He muttered, mostly to himself, and then turned back to face Naruto. "I wouldn't worry though, Naruto. That's Madara, my dad's uncle - remember me telling you about him?" He asked, and Naruto looked thoughtful for a few moments before he remembered.

"Oh yeah! Okay, that's cool - hey, does this count as me meeting your family?" Naruto grinned, and Sasuke playfully swatted his hand. Soon enough, their meal arrived and they forgot all about Madara, quietly watching them from a distance.


	13. the Bridge Over Troubled Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Fun fact. The Wolcott is named after a hotel in NYC, where I stayed the first (and only, for now) time I visited there. The interior of the hotel should give you an idea of what The Wolcott (fictional) restaurant looks like - if you're interested!
> 
> Anyway, chapter 13, here we go...
> 
> (tw: blood, descriptions of gore and murder, implied/referenced panic attack)

"Yes, Dad, I was meeting the blonde man on business, that's why I said it was a business meeting..." Sasuke confidently spoke in to his phone as he unlocked the door to his apartment, then looked over at Naruto with a smile contrary to his tone, and a wink. Naruto blushed. "Yes, nothing came of it... Yes, I understand I probably wasted time and money on The Wolcott for a deal that fell through... No, it won't happen again." Sasuke continued, as they both walked in and Naruto hung his jacket up by the door.

Sasuke lingered by the coat rack, and rolled his eyes at something his father said as he gestured and mouthed at Naruto; 'go and sit down'. Naruto nodded and made his way over to the sofa, pulling his phone out of his back pocket as he went, a sheet of paper falling out on to the floor as he did so.

"Huh, why does that keep happening..." He thought out loud, bending down to pick the paper up, face lighting up when he realised what it was. He sat down and looked over at Sasuke, patiently waiting for him to end the call. When he finally did, he called out. "Hey Sasuke, we almost forgot!"

"What?" Sasuke asked, pausing as he hung his coat and keys up by the door and turned to look at Naruto.

"Sakura's end of the show speech, we never read it." He smiled, holding out the sheet of paper as Sasuke quickly crossed the distance to where his boyfriend sat in the living room.

"Oh yeah..." He grabbed the piece of paper and opened it, scanning over it quickly. "Let's read this later when we go to bed." He suggested, and Naruto quietly agreed with a simple nod, despite really wanting to know what Sakura had written. He really must have fallen for this guy; Sasuke could probably tell him to jump off a bridge right now and he would consider doing it. A part of his mind told him that wasn't healthy, but he chose to ignore it.

"So... Your Uncle told your dad about us? What did he say?"

"Hmm, wouldn't you like to know." Sasuke smirked, leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around Naruto's shoulders, then shifting slightly so he sat in his lap, knees resting on the sofa cushions either side of Naruto's hips. Naruto grinned up at him, and closed the distance between them until their lips met, a string of muffled giggles escaping their lips.

True to Sasuke's word (and Naruto's agreement), they did leave reading the speech until later on, when they were wrapped up together in bed.

" _And lastly to Naruto and Sasuke, our hidden gems forged by fire. You probably both don't realise this, but one of the highlights of this run for us all has been watching you two finally realise how good of friends you could (and have) become! Honestly, Naruto, we could all understand your stubbornness and not wanting to give in and accept your rivalry was actually friendship, but Sasuke - you're smarter than that, we thought you had caught up with the rest of us!_ "

Naruto laughed, as Sasuke shoved the paper in to Naruto's hands, huffing and mumbling something about not wanting to continue reading a pack of lies. After his giggling subsided, Naruto continued reading the letter out loud.

" _So, I suppose you two are hereby dubbed the 'success story' this time around! Although, that is usually reserved for new couples, but surprisingly that hasn't happened during this show..._ "

Naruto laughed - it was true, it was almost guaranteed that during the rehearsals and run of each show at the theatre, there was always some new relationship forming due to the close bond that the cast mates formed together; Kurenai and Asuma had been the most exciting ones to watch last spring, because they tried so hard to keep it a secret and failed miserably when they both became flustered at the mere mention of the other's name. It happened that often, that it was actually considered bad luck if it didn't.

"Hmmm..." Naruto hummed happily, leaning up to peck a kiss to Sasuke's pink-tinted cheek. "They don't know we were a true Konoha Theatre success story, my Romeo." He purred, nuzzling in to Sasuke's neck and feathering light kisses there.

"Yeah..." Sasuke sighed, and tilted his head to give Naruto more access.

"But. It's. Just. Our. Special. Secret." Naruto said quietly, sealing each word with a soft kiss against softer skin, each one placed in a different spot from the last one before he pulled away to bring his lips to Sasuke's, smiling against them. Sasuke smiled back.

* * *

_My small hands reached for the door handle, and hesitated. There was something dark beyond it, I could feel it so strongly that for a moment, I wondered if I had found the gates to hell. Slowly, I opened it and entered the room._

_Fresh blood. Everywhere. All over the walls, all over the floor; some on the ceiling, too. It was everywhere - just like it was outside, too. It was even on me, I noticed, as I looked down and wondered how that was even possible. My hands were trembling, and my eyes squeezed shut, willing the image in front of me away._

_Mum._

_Dad._

_Their lifeless bodies slumped on the floor, throats slit and dry tears still wet on their cheeks. He stood over them, sword still in hand, and I watched in horror as my brother appeared from the shadows._

_"Itachi..."_

_"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke..." The devil spoke my name, over and over, each time cutting in to me deeper and deeper._

"Sasuke! Sasuke, are you with me, Sasuke?" A distant voice broke through the haze. It was heavenly, a stark contrast to what I had just witnessed.

"Sasuke, hold on to me." I do as he says without thinking. I can feel him more than see him, a constant warmth by my side, holding me, touching me, bringing me to life. A guardian angel. Somewhere in the back of my mind I realise I'm shaking, and he's whispering in my ear through the ringing; sweet, pointless, sensitive words - words just for me. 'Everything's okay' the voice says. I'm filled up with something warm, and the words sink in. I start to believe them...

"Naruto..."

* * *

"Sasuke." Naruto finally spoke up about ten minutes later when Sasuke had stopped shaking, his breathing had slowed down, and he was relaxed in to Naruto's embrace. "Do you feel better?" Sasuke nodded weakly in response, lying down and pulling Naruto with him.

"What just happened...?" He asked, his voice cracking and his throat burning. Naruto kissed him gently on his forehead.

"You must have been having a nightmare or something; I woke up to you screaming, and crying." Naruto shuddered at the recent memory. "I tried to help, but I couldn't wake you up... In the end I just held you, and you wouldn't stop shaking..." He trailed off, and his eyebrows furrowed. "It was really scary - you were hyperventilating, too." Naruto looked in to his eyes, and Sasuke could see the worry behind them. ' _So that explains why my throat hurts so much_ ' Sasuke thought to himself.

"Has this ever happened before?" Naruto asked, after a few more moments of silence. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, never. I was dreaming Itachi killed our parents... It felt so real. I saw it all, the blood, the sword, his blood red eyes, I-" Sasuke's voice cut off, unable to continue.

"Shh, it's not real... I promise you're safe here." Naruto softly stroked Sasuke's hair, and Sasuke found himself leaning in to the touch and closing his eyes.

"Naruto... I'm glad you're here..." He whispered, missing the way Naruto's eyes softened at his words.

"Me too."

* * *

"I don't want to go home..." Naruto whined, as they walked together hand in hand through the park in a different city the next day. They were an hour's drive from Konoha - far enough away for neither of them to worry about being seen, where they could be more freely affectionate with each other.

"Well, we have to at some point, all our stuff is there." Sasuke smiled, teasing him.

"You know what I meant! I don't want to go back to my tiny apartment, I don't want to leave you and go back to my regular day to day life." He whined. "I don't even know why I said home, how could it feel like a home now without someone else there?" He smiled, and didn't notice Sasuke stiffen briefly at his words - something hidden in them that Naruto probably didn't even realise. For this reason, Sasuke decided not to comment and bring attention to it.

"I can't wait to see Gaara and the rest of the team at work though, I've missed them... And maybe when I stop spending all my time curled up in your arms, I can reach out to Karin." He grinned, realising that during his stay at Sasuke's he had almost completely forgotten about her, and the news she had brought him.

"Oh yeah, Karin..." Sasuke said, as if he had forgotten about all of that, too. "Will you be okay? Do you want me to come with you if you meet up with her?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll be fine... And besides, I don't want you to scare her off - or worse! I don't want to have to watch another woman fawn all over you while I just have to sit there!" He laughed, but his face was quite serious - back in Konoha, whenever they went out together it always got on Naruto's nerves when he saw women (and some men) checking Sasuke out, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Okay, I get it, but I can't do anything about that last part - not my fault I'm irresistible."

"Hmph, you're not irresistible!"

"Oh yeah? And you can resist me, can you?"

"S-sure I can!"

"Wanna bet?"

"You bet I wanna bet! I- oh! Sasuke look at that!" Naruto let go of Sasuke's hand and pointed somewhere to his left, towards a large bridge that was visible just outside of the park's gates. An old sign hung above the traditional bridge, that read: Great Naruto Bridge. "Wow... Let's check it out!" He grinned, taking hold of Sasuke's hand again and pulling him in the direction of the park's exit, and towards the bridge.

"I wonder what the story behind this is..." Naruto wondered in awe, not letting go of Sasuke's hand as they both looked up at the sign above the entrance to the long foot bridge.

"I can tell you the story, for a fee." A voice spoke up from behind them, and Naruto looked over his shoulder to find who it came from.

"Really? How much?" He asked the older man, turning around to give him his full attention. Sasuke frowned, and turned around too.

"30." He said, and as Naruto was reaching for the wallet in his pocket, Sasuke's hand reached out to stop it, grabbing Naruto's wrist.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke hissed, close to his ear.

"Getting the money for this guy to tell us about the bridge." He said, as though there was nothing wrong with that statement.

"He's obviously scamming you!"

"So! I wanna know about it."

"Just get a local guidebook."

"What if it's not common knowledge? What if nobody knows but this man?"

"Whatever, do what you want." Sasuke rolled his eyes, letting go of Naruto's arm. "But I'm not bailing you out when you don't have enough money for groceries next week."

"Alright! So, what's your name?" Naruto asked, pulling out the money and handing it to the man.

"Tazuna. Thank you, young man." He smiled, pocketing the note. "Now I can get my grandson the game he's wanted for a long time." He said, and Naruto's grin widened. "And, you are?"

"Naruto!"

"Oh! I see, so that's why you're interested in the bridge." Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, where to begin..." He trailed off, looking up at the sign. "The Great Naruto bridge was built by one of my ancestors-" He cut himself off, and looked at Sasuke. "Your boyfriend is right, it's not really common knowledge how this bridge came to be." He said to Sasuke, whose eye twitched as he refused to acknowledge the man, looking away in the distance. Naruto watched the man with anticipation, silently willing him to continue.

"It's an old family legacy; this bridge was actually named after a famous warrior from times gone by, without whom this bridge would never have been completed. You see, young man, this area was once ruled over by a group of successful criminals, but people these days deny this specific part of local history." He explained, and Sasuke slowly turned to look back at him, trying to hide his curiosity. "However, this bridge was crucial in the downfall of their empire, and with it their tyranny. Once completed, the bridge would connect the townspeople with neighbouring towns and communities, promoting trade and outside economic influence; the people in this area would no longer be dependent on this band of criminals. Naturally, they opposed the bridge, and employed any means necessary to ensure it was never completed. And that's when our hero arrived, and ran them out of town. It was my ancestor that started and finished the project, and named the bridge after the young ninja who was pivotal in the completion of the bridge, and liberation of the locals. All of this..." The man gestured towards the busy park, and local merchants. "Wouldn't have been possible, if things hadn't happened the way they did... At least not for a long time, anyway." He added.

"Wow... That's so cool..." Naruto looked back at the bridge, and smiled. "Naruto the hero!" He grinned, and the old man nodded.

"Yes, that's for sure. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you two, but I must be on my way. Enjoy the rest of your day." He said, tipping his hat before leaving.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Sasuke asked once Tazuna was out of earshot, and they began walking towards the bridge. "I mean, the criminal control of this area is believable, but heroes and ninjas? You know that's all myth, don't you."

"I dunno, Sasuke, haven't you ever wondered if there's any truth in it? I mean, it sounds too good to be true, but what if it's not just legend?"

"Naruto... I know I call you stupid all the time, but you honestly don't think-"

"Sometimes, I have dreams that I'm a ninja." He said, as they slowed to a stop at the edge of the bridge, looking out at the water.

"What?" He looked over at Naruto, curiously.

"Me, you, Sakura, Kakashi, our friends at the theatre... Sometimes I have dreams that we're all ninja. It's really elaborate and specific, and each time it just feels like I'm watching someone else's memories... I dunno, I can't explain it... Ah, it all sounds stupid now I'm saying it out loud!" He dismissed his own words, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, it does sound stupid..." Sasuke looked away, back out at the water. "Whatever. So you have dreams that we're ninjas with special powers, I've had dreams like that too but it doesn't mean anything. And, even if it was real, it doesn't matter to us does it? Right here, right now is all that matters."

"I guess you're right." He smiled, lightly squeezing Sasuke's hand.

"And right here, right now, some old man scammed you out of a lot of money."

"Ah- Sasuke!"

"What? It's true!" He laughed, and Naruto laughed with him despite himself.

* * *

"I'm leaving to join the police force." Gaara said quietly between mouthfuls of his turkey sandwich on their shared break, guiltily looking around the staff canteen; anywhere but at Naruto.

"Oh, why?" Naruto asked, taking a bite of his banana. "I thought you wanted your own life, different from your brother and sister?" He asked, referring to Kankuro and Temari who were also in the police, like their parents before them.

"Things change."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Actually, it's because of you."

"Me? How?"

"Your ambition, determination, endless optimism. I always thought life was shit, and the police are corrupt; in a way, that's still true... But it's not as simple as that. People are complex - you showed me that. Maybe not intentionally, but you did." Gaara smiled an impossibly small smile, and Naruto's eyes widened - it was not an expression his friend often wore. "And if I want to change things, I've got to grow up and do it myself. I'm achieving nothing here, it's soul crushing. I want out."

"So... You're leaving the Jinchuuriki team?" Naruto asked, looking away thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I am."

"I see..." They both remained silent for a while, and as Gaara watched Naruto he could almost see the gears spinning as Naruto thought in silence - a rare sight. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about leaving, too..." Naruto admitted, and this time it was Gaara who couldn't keep his eyes from widening.

"You have?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to be a professional actor, and I thought working here would give me the money to pursue that - but this place is where dreams go to die." He laughed, and Gaara gave a small laugh in response.

"You're right about that." He agreed. "Do it, if that's what you want. If I learned anything from you it's that sometimes, you have to take risks."

"Thanks, Gaara, I might actually do that." He grinned. "So... If you do join the police, maybe you could do something for me as a thank you for inspiring you!"

"What would that be?"

"Find out what you can about the Senchi, and report it back to me." He whispered, leaning in close.

"I could get in a lot of trouble for that." He whispered back.

"I know you well enough to know you don't care." Naruto grinned. "Plus, it's to protect your friend, they're after me and - if you end up on their case, maybe I could help you."

"Hmm... I'll think about it." Gaara took a bite of his sandwich and Naruto grinned, finishing off his banana.

* * *

Throughout the rest of January, Naruto finally booked himself a session with a headshot photographer, calling in sick at work that day as he had run out of paid time off. Ever since his conversation with Gaara, his mind had been racing; he'd been in dead-end job after dead-end job for a few years now - always saying it was to help him pay for classes and continue supporting himself while he tried to find work as an actor, but he was no closer to his dreams than he was the day he started. So he booked himself in for headshots, signed himself up to casting websites, sent out countless emails and letters to agents and directors. He even spent an entire session with Jiraiya just discussing how the industry works, trying to make sense of it all.

Despite his quarter life crisis and planning for his life overhaul, there were many highlights of the month of January, however - all of them being the times Sasuke came and stayed over at his apartment. One eventful evening, they had been kissing on the sofa when they were interrupted by his neighbour Iruka tapping guiltily on the window, returning Naruto's coffee maker - he was the first person to find out, and had promised not to tell Kotetsu and Izumo. In fact, he had seemed quite happy and pleased for Naruto, even going so far as to congratulate them. Naruto had rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, and Sasuke had been slowly turning redder and redder throughout the whole conversation - much to Naruto's amusement.

Towards the end of January, he finally met up with Karin for coffee again - feeling more positive about seeing her again now that the shock of her revelations had mostly blown over.

"Hi Naruto! It's so nice to see you again." She grinned that familiar grin, and gave him a big hug. He wondered if that's what his mother's hugs would have felt like. She didn't bring it up again, and Naruto guessed she was probably waiting for him to be ready and bring it up himself. They talked about Orochimaru, and Naruto decided to tell her about Sasuke; she was an outsider, and he considered it was safe to - he wanted a close bond with her, as she was the only family he never knew he had. He also got this feeling from her that he could trust her, that they could be good friends - maybe like brother and sister, if he was lucky.

"Ohhh, sounds like mister Uzumaki has a special someone." She teased when he finished telling her about Sasuke, winking as she leaned forwards to drink her iced coffee through a straw and not breaking eye contact with Naruto. He laughed, he blushed, and he didn't deny it.

"You do!" She grinned, and he nervously nodded. "How sweet, the way you talked about him - like he's an angel." She swooned, and then leaned closer. "Tell me all about it, cuz!" She grinned, and he didn't need telling twice before he launched in to all things Sasuke.

* * *

"You're leaving at the end of the month, correct?" The man asked, trying to maintain composure as the elder nodded with conviction.

"If you uphold your end of the deal - I want them protected."

"You know you can trust me."

"I've trusted a lot of people, many who proved me a fool to do so."

"Are you implying I'm one of them?"

"I'm saying I trust no-one."

"You have no other choice, you leave now and you have options; lucrative positions at Red Cloud, Black Coat, Gedo Mazo Enterprises - all the same thing. If you stay, you'll be ruined... Not to mention, what will happen to young Sasuke-"

"Keep him out of this, lay a finger on him and I'll break your neck."

"You think you can scare me, Itachi?"

"I'm giving you a warning."

"Hmm, the thing is, will I listen to it?" He asked, in such a casual way as though he were asking what Itachi wanted for lunch.

"Yes, if you know what's good for you." He said, willing the other man to read between the lines. By the way his eyebrow raised and how he leaned forwards with careful curiosity, he knew he had picked up on the veiled threat.

"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi... There are many ways of silencing you." He said softly, making a slicing motion at his throat. Itachi was silent for a moment, his face expressionless.

"I'm leaving Uchiha, if I have to trust you then you have to trust me - consider this a business transaction of trust."

"Oh, you're absolutely right Itachi, a business transaction - one we must all remove emotion from if we wish to move forward."

"After this, I don't want to see your face again." He said firmly, and the younger man grinned manically. "Have I made myself clear, Obito?"

"Crystal."

* * *

"Mmm... I've missed staying at your place." Naruto smiled as they curled up together in Sasuke's bed, walking his fingers up Sasuke's chest before he slid his hand around his shoulder and curled in to his side. Sasuke smiled, and turned his head to look in to Naruto's eyes.

"Funny, I prefer your place."

"Why? My bed is way too small."

"Maybe that's why." Sasuke smirked, and Naruto smiled back at him. They shared a few moments of comfortable silence - a silence only broken by the faintly howling wind outside the window - before Sasuke spoke up again. "How did it go with Karin today?"

"Oh, really well - she's a lot like me in some ways, but completely the opposite in others! She figured out about us in no time at all." He smiled sheepishly.

"How?!"

"Hmm, apparently I talk about you as though you're an angel." He smiled.

"O-oh, well no wonder she figured it out..." Sasuke mumbled, taken by surprise.

"She didn't realise one thing, though..." Naruto trailed off, suddenly becoming nervous and not looking at Sasuke.

"... What?"

"Um, she didn't realise that I- That I, um..."

"That you what, Naruto." He urged, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.

"That I think I'm falling in love with you." He quickly admitted, finally turning to look at Sasuke.

"O-oh."

"You don't have to say it back! But, I, I just wanted to tell you, so... I hope it's not too much, or too fast-"

"Okay..." Sasuke cut him off, a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked up at his ceiling, and Naruto looked like he was about to start crying. Sasuke thought about their friendship and relationship up until this point, how - without realising it - his feelings for the blonde man had been around for a long time; before the car rides, even before the friendship ramen. He thought about how, given the opportunity, his feelings began quickly developing a lot faster than he ever thought possible and, damn - the beautiful, happy, energetic and charismatic man next to him had made it so difficult to slow it all down.

After an agonising thirty seconds, Sasuke worked up the courage, took a deep, calming breath, smiled, and finally looked back at Naruto. "I think I'm falling in love with you, too." He said, all his fears and reservations disappearing when Naruto gave him a watery smile. Both of them leaned forwards with a desperate need to feel the other, to feel reassured that this was right, that it was okay, that they were doing the right thing.

Outside, the wind picked up and rain began lashing at the window, signalling an approaching storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, let me know what you think friends :)  
> ps: has anyone noticed the way I write each chapter title? Has anyone figured out the pattern yet? ;)


	14. broken

"Dad?"

Sasuke was currently sitting on his desk chair in his bedroom, chair swiveled round to face his boyfriend who was lounging around comfortably on his plush king bed, giving him a questioning look.

He looked like he belonged there.

Sasuke noted this with a smile, before his attention was brought back to the device in his hand that displayed his father's emotionless face on FaceTime.

"Sasuke. Son. I'm proud of you."

' _Oh._

_Wait._

_What?_ '

Sasuke looked back towards his supportive boyfriend, feeling - and probably looking - completely lost at the unfamiliar situation he had found himself in.

Looking lost.

Looking for reassurance from Naruto.

And he got it in the form of a soft and gentle smile, encouraging him and filling him up with a warmth that spread from his chest, right down to his fingertips. The earth shattering, world altering effect of something so simple still baffled him. They had only been together for two months now, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was too soon for it to feel this good.

"I'm proud of you. I know I don't say it enough, and I'm sorry. You know I don't agree with this, but..."

' _Ah, that's right_ ', Sasuke thought, as he brought himself back into the conversation and reminded himself of what was happening. He had just told his father about Naruto. His homophobic, emotionally unavailable, toxicly masculine father.

"You're happy, and happiness is what I want for you." Fugaku said, looking as though he was struggling with the words that just cascaded from his lips. But there was a sincerity there, set somewhere in the deep wrinkles that were etched on his face from a lifetime of stress. "I accept that your life will no longer look the way I had hoped for you from here on out, but I hope you can understand I only ever wanted to do what was best for you. Sasuke. I hope you know that."

"Y-yes." Sasuke croaked, lost for words for what felt like the first time in his life. He looked back at Naruto again, and there were unshed tears in his lover's eyes. He silently wished Naruto wouldn't cry, because then he might not be able to stop himself from doing so, either.

"Your being-" Fugaku paused, and looked uncomfortable as he tried to say the next word. "Gay. It doesn't change that. If you are happy with a-" He paused, again. "Another man, then it shouldn't matter what an aging man like me says, thinks, or feels about it. You will encounter prejudice, hate, and hard times for this. I do not wish to add to that."

"Yes." Sasuke tightened his grip on his phone. "I know what might happen, what people might say, or think." Sasuke paused, as he took a deep breath. "But, I am happy."

"And that's all I want. Son, I'm proud of you for finding your own happiness."

"Yes." He nodded, not knowing what else to say, or do. The silence lingered between them for a few, long moments.

"I will see you soon, Sasuke." Fugaku continued, finally breaking the silence. "Your mother and I will be visiting in a month's time to aid Itachi with his relocation and sort out a few things in Konoha."

"Yes. See you soon." He said, the invitation to meet Naruto on the tip of his tongue before he decided against it. They would have to take this slowly - after all, it was nothing short of a miracle that this conversation hadn't ended in Sasuke being financially cut off.

"Bye, Sasuke, I-" Another uncomfortable pause. "I do love you."

Sasuke stopped breathing. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Naruto gesturing wildly, flapping his hand about and urging him to speak.

' _Breathe_ ' Naruto mouthed when Sasuke looked to him for reassurance, and Sasuke took a deep, calming breath as he looked into his boyfriend's soft blue eyes. He looked back at the screen.

"I love you too, Dad. Bye." He said, a small hint of a smile settling on his lips a moment before the call ended.

"Sasuke." Came the uncharacteristically soft and quiet voice from the man on his bed. "Come here." Naruto said a bit louder this time as he sat up, and the sheets pooled at his hips with a soft flump. He opened his arms wide to invite his boyfriend into his comforting embrace; it was an invitation Sasuke happily, and quickly, accepted.

Sasuke sighed against the warm, tanned skin as he melted into the embrace. This is what he had invited his boyfriend over for; his unwavering and addictive warmth and support. He had already told his mother a few days ago about this, and she had urged him to tell his dad. It took him all that time to compose himself, and he didn't think he'd have been able to do it without Naruto by his side. He wondered once again how they had managed to intertwine so deeply with one another in such a short space of time, but couldn't find the answer.

"I bet he's not as proud of you as I am." Naruto whispered softly against his hair, and Sasuke shuffled further into the embrace. Naruto then laid back and pulled Sasuke with him, so both of them settled in to the comfort of the cloud-soft sheets. Naruto softly ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair, and Sasuke only hummed quietly in response. He was content to be laying comfortably atop Naruto, covering him almost completely.

Naruto kissed the top of his head.

This.

Sasuke wanted nothing else, but this feeling of peace and contentment for the rest of his life.

* * *

Madara walked down the hall towards the elevator, his phone pressed to his ear. As he walked, his polished and pointed work shoes emitted a rhythmic tap against the laminated floor.

The walls of this fifth floor hallway were a light shade of brown with darker brown paneling, and decorated at regular intervals with framed prints of various scenery. Occasionally, there was a potted plant atop a small black and white marble pillar; the interior of the Uchiha Enterprises building was immaculate, if a little outdated, and it suited Madara's tastes very well. Said man noted this with a smile, that more resembled a smirk.

"Of course, Obito, you have my word." Madara said into his phone, tapping the button at the elevator - framed by more wooden paneling - and listening to it's irritating chime. "It will go ahead as planned. You know I've never- Oh. He does? I see. No. No that will not change a thing-" Madara was cut off, as the man on the other end of the call wouldn't shut up or listen. "Obito. Obito! Listen to me." He said sharply, finally silencing the man. "Words have many meanings, and you will do well to remember that-" He was cut off again when the elevator doors opened. "Oh, good afternoon, Kabuto." He said, pulling the phone away from his mouth slightly and nodding a greeting at the grey haired gentleman in the elevator. "Going up? I'm sorry sir, but I must end this call, goodbye." He said, swiftly hanging up on Obito.

"Good afternoon, ." Kabuto finally responded. "Yes, I'm on my way to the twelfth floor."

"Ah, of course. Coffee run?" He asked, eyes flicking towards the brown paper bag in the other man's grasp.

"Ah, no. Dango." He said, lifting the bag slightly and giving a small chuckle, which Madara returned.

"Yes, your boss is quite partial to the stuff." He commented, amused. "I hope he isn't sending his assistant out multiple times a day for it."

"No, this is only the tenth time today." Kabuto joked as he pushed his glasses further up his nose, cutting through the awkwardly formal atmosphere.

"I could believe that." Madara said with another chuckle, as the doors to the twelfth floor opened. "Well, see you again. Send my regards to Itachi." He said, as Kabuto stepped out from the elevator.

"Of course sir, good day." He said, and the older man simply smiled. Kabuto silently watched as the doors slid closed, cutting Madara's eerie smile off from view. He frowned and shuddered, before making his way to his boss' office.

"Kabuto, you're back so soon?" Itachi smiled, as Kabuto quietly entered his office.

"Yes, sir." He nodded, deciding not to comment on the fact that he had been speed walking across town for his boss' favourite dango.

"I knew I made the right choice in hiring you as my assistant." He smiled, reaching into the bag that had been placed on his desk. He sighed happily as he took a bite of his favourite treat. "Mmm..." He hummed, swivelling his chair around to look out his window at the bustling city before him, bathed in heat and sunlight. ' _Thank God for air conditioning._ ' Itachi thought. "I can't wait to get back to Konoha. This dango is good, but nothing compares to what I used to get back home." He said quietly, not needing to mention what he was really looking forward to; something that also resided in Konoha. Specifically, within the Uchiwa Quarter. "You're still happy to relocate with me?" He asked, looking back at Kabuto over his shoulder.

"Yes." He nodded. "I actually have an acquaintance back in Konoha. After all, I used to live there a while ago - as you know." He said, and Itachi nodded slowly. After all, that was where he had first met Kabuto.

A few years back, during a meeting with another firm to settle on a deal, Kabuto had entered with fresh green tea that his employer grew. The tea was very popular and sought after in Konoha, though rather expensive. After the meeting, Itachi had scouted him out and struck up a supply deal, so employees in the Konoha division of Uchiha could enjoy it. Sasuke was quite fond of it, too.

"Does Orochimaru still grow tea?" He asked, following through with his train of thought. Kabuto gave him a knowing smile.

"Yes, they still do." He nodded, and nothing more was said on the matter. They proceeded to continue tackling the mountain of paperwork on Itachi's desk, remaining in a mostly comfortable silence.

* * *

"Shhh." Naruto whispered, broken by his childish giggles as he lead Sasuke through the backstage area of Konoha Theatre by the hand, their fingers intertwined.

"Idiot." Sasuke hissed back, looking amused contrary to his tone of voice. "We are allowed to be here, you know." He continued, rolling his eyes but smiling too.

Naruto had driven them both to the theatre that afternoon - a time when it was likely to be deserted - to go and pick up their Gutsy Ninja scripts. This was so they could begin to familiarise themselves with their lines long before rehearsals started, as per Kakashi's request. It didn't normally happen that way, but Kakashi wanted to try out giving his cast their scripts ahead of time to see if it worked, or made things worse.

"But isn't it more fun to pretend we're not?" He whispered, poking his head around one of the scenery boards at the side of the stage. "Nobody's here." He smiled, quickly turning around to face Sasuke again when he jumped in surprise. He was suddenly a lot closer than he thought he was. So close, in fact, that they were almost nose to nose.

"Good." Sasuke said, his voice quiet, deep, and calm. It sent a chill down Naruto's spine, and a familiar warm flush spread to his cheeks. He was drowning in the other man's dark gaze, and when Sasuke reached up to lace his fingers in Naruto's hair to bring their faces closer, he couldn't have objected even if he'd wanted to.

Naruto hummed happily when their lips connected, as they shared another kiss amongst many right there, almost center stage in front of an empty auditorium. It felt soft, yet electric; the silence of the building pressing in against them. The sunlight streamed in through the back windows, specks of dust floated in and out of the beams of sunlight - it was divine, and perfect, and Naruto could have stayed just like that for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, he had to breathe.

"Hmmm." He pulled away, smiled and - with his eyes still closed - gently pressed his forehead against Sasuke's.

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke said softly after a few minutes. His eyes were no longer on Naruto, and instead had shifted to look at something to their right.

"Mm." Naruto opened his eyes, and pulled his face away from the other man's so he could shift closer, then wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Naruto." Sasuke spoke up again, a bit louder this time. Naruto still didn't respond. "Idiot. Sakura's here." He said, tapping Naruto's back in case his words alone weren't enough to bring his boyfriend back down to earth.

"W-what?!" He pulled away quickly and his eyes snapped open, voice suddenly a lot louder than it was a moment ago. Sasuke winced.

"Hey Sasuke, Naruto." Sakura greeted them nervously, standing awkwardly at the side of the stage. "I just came by to pick up my script..." She trailed off awkwardly, before continuing. "You too?"

"Yeah, us too." Naruto nodded, looking equally nervous. "How long have you been there?"

"A minute or two." She admitted, smiling at them both. "This-" she gestured towards them. "There's nothing to be worried about around me. I, um, kinda figured it out already." She laughed nervously.

"Really?" Naruto asked, though the knowledge did nothing to ease his worries.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, it was only suspicion. I had hinted that I knew in the speech though - did you both read it?"

"Oh, um, yeah." Naruto smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he remembered the words she wrote. So it seems she knew more than he had given her credit for, then. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" She asked, frowning a bit. Sasuke frowned too, looking at Naruto with confusion etched lightly on his face.

"You- well, you always had a thing for Sasuke, and I kinda went behind your back and broke the bro code." Naruto looked concerned, despite his admittedly ridiculous train of thought. He realised he was indulging in his usual habit; reverting to slightly childish behaviour and humour as a way to hide his discomfort. But it was a hard habit to break.

"Naruto." She sighed, amused. "I'm not a bro, so that doesn't count. Plus, technically you broke this toxic bro code when you started kissing another guy." She joked, humouring him and letting out a short, breathy laugh. "I understand what you mean, though - but I also understand why you both wanted to keep quiet about it, so, I'll forgive you for breaking the 'bro code'." She said with air quotes, amused, while her smile remained firmly on her lips.

"Thanks." Naruto smiled, and Sasuke smiled too. "So, can this stay a secret for a while? I'm not sure I'm ready for everyone here to know about it, yet." He looked off to the side, a worried expression on his face as Sakura approached him.

"Naruto." She said, placing a soft hand on his broad shoulder and bringing his attention back to her. "Of course, you're my best friend - I promise I won't tell anyone." She smiled, and Naruto lit up once more.

* * *

"You did a good thing yesterday, Fugaku." The dark haired woman said, softly. Gently. Calmly. Fugaku looked up at her, a rare insecurity in his eyes.

"Did I?" He asked, looking for reassurance - also a rare occurrence.

"Of course you did." Mikoto answered softly, walking up to her husband and companion to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes, all a son needs is support and acceptance. I promise you, that call meant the world to Sasuke." She smiled, and he silently nodded and then cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Mikoto. I'm glad I chose you."

"Hm? Where has this come from all of a sudden?" She chuckled, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I've not been the best husband to you." He admitted, and she took a sharp intake of breath at his unexpected words. "And- well, we both know that there's no love here anymore." He said, gesturing between them. "But, what I meant was; I couldn't have picked a better woman to mother my children." He said, looking like he was struggling with his words, but knowing they needed to be said.

"Oh, Fugaku." She said, smiling and squeezing his shoulder. "Thank you, I-" She didn't get to finish her sentence, as she was abruptly cut off by her husband's office door being thrown open.

Very unexpectedly.

* * *

"So, how are things going with Sasuke?" Naruto's neighbour Iruka asked after a few moments of comfortable silence, pouring some more water in to the cup in Naruto's outstretched hand. They sat opposite each other at Iruka's small kitchen table, partaking in one of their regular catch ups.

"Oh." Naruto smiled, blushing at the mere mention and thought of his boyfriend. He knew he was behaving like a lovesick schoolgirl, but he found he couldn't help it. "Perfect." His smile widened. "Earlier, we kissed in the theatre while it was empty - at least we thought it was empty at the time. It was so romantic." Naruto smiled down at his cup, twisting it slowly and watching the water ripple slightly with the movements. He couldn't see his reflection in it, but he didn't need to to know there was a stupid smile plastered on his face.

"Aw, Naruto." Iruka smiled, fondly regarding his younger neighbour who had quickly become like a son to him, even though he had only known him for a short time. Such was the effect of someone as likeable as Naruto. "Wait, you thought it was empty? Was it not?" He asked, and Naruto froze for a moment. His hands stopped playing with the cup, and instead brought it to his lips so he could tentatively take a sip.

"Uhh, no, Sakura was there." He said as he set his glass back down, before continuing. "I swear I never heard her come in. She saw us kissing on stage."

"Oh dear." Iruka chuckled nervously on his behalf, and Naruto went on to quickly explain what happened next. A short while later, Naruto had to leave for work and so said his goodbyes to Iruka. It was as he was leaving his neighbour's house and was going to his own to get his work bag, that he noticed the large black car parked on the side of the road directly opposite his house. He frowned - he had noticed that car had been sitting in the very same spot opposite his house for the past three days, and he was a little curious to say the least; nobody on their street owned a car like that, nor had any visitors that did.

Deciding to ignore it again for now, he busied himself with getting ready for work. When he was ready and back outside again, he locked the door and made his way to his little orange car. He threw the bag in the back seat, before climbing into the driver's seat and setting off. It was his last day at Red Cloud Logistics and, as much as he would miss the rest of the Jinchuuriki team, he couldn't wait to finally be done with it.

* * *

Itachi leaned back in his office chair, flicking through the estate agent brochure again now he found himself with some spare time. It was from an exclusive estates agency, only marketed towards professionals earning above a certain salary. Itachi had often pondered on the strangeness of this; how these companies (mostly unknown to the average population) would seek out people like himself worldwide, and try to draw them in as clients. This particular company - Akatsuki Estates - had been the only one to appeal to his odd, vintage tastes.

Itachi hummed contemplatively to himself, as he found the page and apartment he had bookmarked during his last search. The apartment in question was located within the Uchiwa Quarter quite close to Sasuke (but not too close), and was situated in a private apartment complex. Within the building, there was a gym, a pool, a gaming area, a spa, and many other luxuries that Itachi deemed unnecessary. Yes, he didn't particularly care for these features, but the interior design is what had attracted him in the end; the deep browns, the tasteful (not tacky) use of gold trimming and edging on the furniture, and the large mural of a Japanese garden in the master bedroom, to name a few. He was quite sure this was the one he was going to put in an offer for.

Just as Itachi was about to pick up his phone and do just that, his office door was thrown open quite abruptly by Kabuto in a panic; quite unusual behaviour from the grey-haired man. Itachi frowned, curious.

"Itachi." He said, trying to keep calm but clearly failing. Itachi was already half raised out of his office chair, quite alarmed and ready to move at a moment's notice. Something was very clearly wrong.

"What is it, Kabuto, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice lacking it's usual calm composure.

"Please, you must quickly follow me, I've already called the police." He said, and Itachi stood up quickly at the revelation, frowning. The police? "There has been... An incident." Kabuto managed to explain through his heavy panting, as he supported himself with one hand against the door frame - Itachi realised that he must have run here. "No time to explain now, please come with me quickly, I'll tell you on the way." He finally said, straightening up and leaving the office as quickly as he arrived, Itachi already close behind him.

* * *

"Ohhh, Mister Sasuke." Naruto laughed through his words, trying to sound seductive but failing, still feeling quite tipsy after the party. Sasuke smirked at his boyfriend's behaviour, the tanned man's arm firmly wrapped around Sasuke's waist.

Sasuke unlocked the door to his apartment, and they clumsily entered.

They had just got back to Sasuke's, after said man had picked Naruto up from his goodbye party with his now ex-work colleagues. Bee had forgotten he was the designated driver and got too drunk, so Sasuke had ended up coming over to pick up his boyfriend - somehow being roped in to taking both Gaara and Yugito home, too.

They had been exceptionally annoying, teasing him about the possible nature of his and Naruto's relationship from the backseat of his Honda. According to Naruto, Gaara was only talkative and annoying after about four drinks. Sasuke believed him. It had been Naruto's idea to come back to Sasuke's apartment instead of going home, and he had agreed quite quickly (though he would swear the opposite was true, if asked).

"Kiss me, Sasuke." Naruto said once they were inside, and the door was locked. A lazy, alcohol induced grin was plastered on his face.

"No."

"Aww, I'm not drunk, just tipsy, so you won't be taking advantage of me."

"I know I won't. I'm worried about you taking advantage of me." Sasuke teased, but Naruto took his words to be serious.

"You know I would never, Sasuke. I'd never do that." He said, as serious and as clearly as the alcohol in his system would allow.

"I know you wouldn't." Sasuke smiled, and finally stepped closer to his partner for a kiss. Naruto smiled against his lips, and raised his arms up to let them fall comfortably around Sasuke's neck and shoulders.

Sasuke had been thinking a lot lately about their physical intimacy; how things never seemed to escalate beyond heated kisses. It wasn't like he hadn't fantasised about more with Naruto, but he had been scared. 'More' meant openness, vulnerability, trust. Three things that terrified the dark-haired man. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised he was ready to be all those things for Naruto, and all that stood in his way now was his stubborn ego.

"Naruto." Sasuke breathed in to the kiss, and the tanned man pulled away slightly, panting from the intensity of the kiss. Sasuke could smell the lingering vodka and coke on Naruto's breath, could even taste it on his own tongue. He frowned slightly, but it quickly disappeared and he continued regardless. "I- I want..." He trailed off and frowned again, suddenly embarrassed and not sure how to find the right words.

"You want...?" Naruto said slowly, prompting him with a smile. Sasuke looked up at him - not realising he had just been looking anywhere but at Naruto - and suddenly felt a lot calmer. A foreign confidence washed over him, and he continued.

"I want you... I want... I want to touch you and... Stuff." He said quietly, clearly having trouble expressing his desires. He braced himself for Naruto's teasing words, but they never came.

"Hmmm. I think I want to touch you and stuff, too." Naruto smiled gently, placing his hand softly against Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke smiled back, and opened his mouth to speak when his phone suddenly rang. Sasuke groaned, as the shrill sound cut through the air like a knife. "You don't have to answer it." Naruto suggested quietly, but when Sasuke glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Itachi, he reluctantly shook his head and pulled back from Naruto's embrace to answer the call.

"Itachi? No, I'm not alone. Naruto's here" He said into the phone, smiling at Naruto both fondly and apologetically before he turned away, and walked in to the kitchen.

Naruto smiled to himself - he wasn't too annoyed. He went to sit down on the living room sofa, patiently waiting to once again receive his boyfriend's undivided attention.

A curiously short time later, Sasuke hung up the phone and it slipped between his fingers, hurtling towards the tiled floor where it bounced. The screen cracked, but Sasuke didn't seem to notice - or care.

He just stood still, barely moving.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called to him quietly, sensing something definitely wasn't right. No response. "S-Sasuke, are you okay?"

"I. I..." He said, his voice void of any emotion as he struggled to speak.

"Is- Is Itachi okay?"

"Yes. Itachi is okay." Sasuke said, still not turning around. Naruto stood up, and approached Sasuke's figure - the latter remaining still as a statue.

"Sasuke." He whispered, rapidly sobering up as he continued to walk over to Sasuke, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke flinched. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything, absolutely anything." He said, and Sasuke finally turned around, his expression blank.

"Itachi called to tell me..." He trailed off and closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. His eyes remained closed as he finished his sentence. "Our parents are dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear.  
> Was it Kabuto in the basement with a rope, Itachi in the attic with a knife, or Madara in the kitchen with a rolling pin? Haha. (sorry, not sorry...!)  
> Well, here we go, this story is going to be longer than I originally thought it would be (can you believe I started this thinking It'd be done at chapter 10? hahahahaaa-no). And my original upload schedule has gone completely off track! But we're getting there, guys...! Thanks so much for sticking with this story, I really appreciate it! <3  
> The next chapter is already 2/3 complete, so expect another update soon c;
> 
> As always, let me know whatcha thinkin'! :D
> 
> Beta reader; Sour Queen


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